Commanding Lightning
by FalselyTrue
Summary: In a futuristic vision, Max learns that she will cause the Flock's deaths. In an attempt to prevent it, she attempts suicide...and fails. Three years later, she commands a special team for a company called Xeti. When the flock joins, all heck turns loose!
1. Maximum Sacrifice

**Welcome to Commanding Lightning, your one way rollercoaster of excitement, terror and drama!**

**I, Luna, am the co-author of this re-write of Max: Dead or Alive, Bird Girl or Human? and my friend Etta (shadowleaf264) (who is different from Ella) says to tell you that it is a very different ride from MDOABGOH! Commanding Lightning is a different story, but the same characters and a bigger cast.**

**So, now that you know the history of Commanding Lightning, we've got one question. Are you ready to try Commanding Lightning?**

_A teenage girl, flying on black-and-silver wings, her black hair and dark eyes stark contrast against her pale skin--somehow familiar. She's terrified, streaking though the sky, as if something bad will happen. Who is she?_

When I first discovered I could see the future, the visions were terrible--I saw them all the time. Thanks to my incredible leaderly powers, and to Angel, I guess, I've learned to control them. Now I see the future only when I want to. I told the flock I wouldn't, because they thought it could drive me mad. Of course, they're right, it's confusing, but does it matter if I can know about danger before it happens?

_People, crowding around a computer screen..._I could only get a glimpse of that one. Whatever.

_An arm, holding a gun--pointing it at the flock, minus me. They're all frozen, staring at it. Then a voice: "Max will be furious when she learns she learns of your deaths--of course, because its her fault, it could very well drive her over the edge..."_

_And then a gunshot._

No. No way. The flock wasn't going to die; it wouldn't be my fault because they wouldn't die. Never.

But this is the future I'm seeing, right? So it's going to happen.

But it couldn't happen if I was long dead.

Get me straight on this. I don't want to die. But when the alternative is the Flock dying, and all of it being _my fault_--well, the choices aren't so great anymore. And I could do it. I've known that since Jeb disappeared, the first time.

But I had to leave them with something...

_Dear Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, Angel,__ I wrote._

_I love you all so much. I love you to the ends of the Earth and back. But I've seen the future, and it's too horrible. I'm hoping, knowing, that without me, the future will be so much better for all of you. Instead of dying horribly in the School, you'll live long, happy lives. People get over the loss of their parents, so that's what I'm asking of you. Forgive and forget me. Forgive me for doing this to you and forget that I ever existed. I'm sorry a hundred, a thousand, a million times, but I have to._

_Fang, you promised you'd never leave me. If I'm leaving you, it doesn't count, so go on with your life._

_Somehow, I'll see you again. Promise. And when have I not kept a promise?_

_I love you all so, so much._

_Max_

I slammed the door open and ran down the stairs of the E-shaped house we had rebuilt, trying not to cry.

"Max, what?" asked Gazzy from his room, but I ignored him and kept running.

And then I reached the edge of the cliff. I stopped.

I've flown, right? This is just a jump. I've gone faster than this. And if I chicken out, I can just open my wings...

No. No chickening out. I have to keep the flock safe.

I can't think straight, I'm so scared. All it takes is one step--the hardest step in my life. They always say that suicide is easy, that it's braver to work on your problems. But this is the hardest thing I've ever done.

"Max! What are you doing?!"

I recognized Fang's voice, and took the step.

Falling was no big deal. I've gone faster, as I said. But the thought of the ground that awaited me... Instinctively my wings opened, just a little. I retracted them firmly into my back.

Suddenly, it seemed as if I was slowing down, just above the ground, or was I hallucinating? Maybe the flock was right. I was mad.

And then the ground hit me, and I cursed whatever force had slowed my fall, cursed it to hell.

Pain. Red-hot, white-hot pain.

I would have died, a quick, easy death, if I had fallen normally to the ground.

Death would have been so much easier.

Surely the Flock will come and check, to see if I'm dead. Then I can tell them to kill me...

I want to scream, but it seems to take too much effort.

Time passes, I don't know how much. I just know it was light, then dark again, then light... I lost track of how many times.

Faces. Voices.

A scream.

What?

Noise, so loud I almost pass out, and wind so strong it makes me hurt worse.

Hands, touching me.

And then nothing.

I woke warm and dry, and, here's the kicker... not in pain.

Then I opened my eyes. White, all around me. Antiseptic smell. Tubes in my arms.

And a whitecoat, staring at me in that familiar interesting-zoo-exhibit way

What? What did I do to end up in hell?

Oh, yeah. Suicide. A deadly sin.

Someone came in. A woman. I focused on her instead.

"Thank you, Dr. Lindenberg, but Max and I would like to talk alone now." She knew my name?

Dr. Lindenberg left grudgingly.

"Max. My name is Katrina ter Borcht. I'm here to offer you a deal."

"What about the flock?" I asked. That was more important than any deal she had to offer. Ter Borcht. That should ring a bell.

"They're fine, but they think you're dead."

I'm not?

"The doctors here know everything. We'll cover up, make sure no one else learns, and you work for us."

Everything clicked into place. "Why the hell would I agree to work for Itex?" I snarled, not very effectively, due to the breathing apparatus, IVs, electrode thingies…

"I don't work for Itex. I work for Xeti, a company dedicated to undoing the damage Itex has done." She looked down. "My only goal in life is to fix what my father did. My sister wants to do the same."

"Fix it so the Flock is left alone, and I'm in."

**And we leave you there. I feel so deliciously evil. And if any of you see Rose, our wayward, kinda lazy muse, please tell her we need her back-the next chapter isn't going to write itself, you know. Reviews will be appriciated.**

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**OH, yeah, um, we don't own Maximum Ride, so thusly we don't own Max or the Flock. We DO own Katrina ter Borcht and the circumstances. And (I think) we own the REBUILT E-house, since it was demolished, you know...**

**Thank Etta for this chapter. She wrote it, and I edited and changed it. So it was a joint work...**


	2. Chapter 2 The Intro

**Welcome to Commanding Lightning. It's a wild, demanding ride, and much more deadly than you'd expect. When Max tries to die and fails, the Flock believes she's dead. In order to keep them safe, she joins XETI, a company hell-bent on righting the wrongs done by Itex.**

**There's a whole new cast of characters to add to our old family. They're nothing like the old family, and let's just say they're rougher and tougher, and these AREN'T the people to mess with…**

**Meet the new family-**

**Dianne Mumixam, known as Di, used to be called Maximum Ride, but after her attempted suicide, she changes. She thinks joining Xeti was one of her better decisions, and she's the leader of Lightning, a quick strike and recon battle group. Her personal squadron is Blue Lightning, filled with the most deadly and dangerous people in the world. She's adopted a little girl as her own sister and named her Julie Mumixam. Di's got a secret-and it's ****not**** the wings. When it's discovered, all heck breaks loose. And believe me, nothing will EVER be the same.**

**Julie Mumixam - A little twelve year old girl adopted by seventeen-year old Diane Mumixam. A deadly, ****dangerous ****little twelve-year-old. She knows all about Xeti, being deeply buried in all of it.. One of the few people Di trusts, Julie is just as suspicious of the world as Di. Born and raised in the Institute for Higher Living, her past catches up with her in the form of Di. But this past comes for the better.**

**Molly O'Reilly, Di's second in command, is one of four people Di trusts. But Molly's hiding something. She knew Max from before, and she had a teensy crush on a certain bird-boy. Her twin sister actually kissed said-bird boy.. But still, Molly was the first to open up to Di, and even though she's four months younger, she acts two years older. Molly and Di have a special bond, just based on that.**

**Dagger Lewis-Di's other second in command, and a mutant like Di. In fact, he used to be an Eraser-and still is. He tried to kill Max countless times, but now-they're on the same side, and nothing stops his loyalty. Will this ex-Eraser still be trusted when someone betrays them?**

**Angel Rise, nine, misses her mother, her sister and her friend. She thinks Max is dead, and she thinks her Flock has gotten over it. When Max and Di come into contact, sparks fly, and Angel's sure this isn't the Max she knew. But then again, why doesn't she tell the Flock?**

**Fang Nicholson took over the flock after Max. Though he pretends to have gotten over his longtime crush, inside, he hasn't changed. He still loves Max, and when Di chooses to leave him behind on a mission, his trust in this mysterious girl who looks so much like her vanishes. When the two of them are trapped together, in a life or death situation, he realizes just why Max chose to leave. But can he accept it?**

**So now, there's only one question left to ask? Commanding Lightning is a dangerous and demanding ride. Are you ready?**


	3. Welcome to Lightning

**Okay, yay, we're posting again! Everyone who wanted me to post, say thank you to Kelsey Goode. Otherwise, I would've waited until tommorrow. We're NOT going over the disclaimer thing. It's stupid. I don't, nor have I ever been a boy. That, and the fact that my name is LUNA should tell yout that I'm not James Patterson. That is all I will say for the rest of the story.**

_"Fix it so the Flock is left alone, and I'm in."_

********Two Years Later********

"Di!"

"Juju! How was your mission?" I asked my "daughter". I adopted Julie (but we call her Juju), and she's more like a sister to me than my daughter, considering she's five years younger than me.

"It was awesome! Nama let me use the auto-cannon and I so hit the target!" Nama was what Julie called Analisse. It was Juju's term of respect. For me it was Didi. Don't ask. Please.

"Once you turn fourteen, you can be an official member of Blue Lightning!" I told her. Juju looks like I do now, with the black hair and black eyes flecked with blue and brown. Her wings are just like mine now, dark black, grey and silver, very stunning. She was the little girl in the cage back in New York. She doesn't hold a grudge, and she's really happy living with Lightning.

I grabbed her arms and swung her around, then tossed her into the air. She might be twelve, but she's very light and she loves to be tossed in the air. Normally she's with the Ocean troops, since there are kids her age there.

I hate taking her into battle, but I have to, since she's my gunner. She's never been hit, and she never misses, but she's my sister. She's an honorary member, hence the, "When you turn fourteen, you can be an _official_ member of Lightning."

Juju was at the hospital, in the bed next to me. I adopted her at that moment. That was two years ago.

"Hey, everyone! Di's back!" I heard one of my second in commands yell. This was Dag, the memory-wiped mutant (Eraser) who I'd saved and named. He was fiercely loyal to me and Lightning. Everyone thinks we look like twins, with our dark hair and eyes. Dag's like my little brother, like Juju's older brother. Everyone in Lightning is a sort of relative. And everyone's nickname reflects their personality. If you're called Fuzzy, it's NOT a good thing…

Everyone swarmed around me, offering congratulations and welcome homes. I guess I should tell you about Lightning, huh? Lightning is Xeti's kinda everything group. There's a whole lot of different Lightnings, and I'm the leader of Blue Lightning. We handle battle, recon and base operations. Basically everything. We're the elite. Basically, we handle aviation and stuff like that. But on Blue Lightning, we're the best of the best of the best. We can drive any vehicle like a pro, we've been trained in every fighting style known to man and then some unique personal styles, and explosives and weapons? We make the best. No one who wants to live messes with Blue Lightning.

"What did they say?" Mart, one of my third in commands, asked. Mart had pale skin, white hair and pale, pale blue eyes. He was an albino, and he was proud of it. Mart used to be normal, but a lightning strike (a real lightning strike, not our team) bleached him pale.

"We're getting new recruits, and everyone will be partnered up. Oh, and Juju's joining permanently!" Juju gasped and hugged me.

The other twenty-odd people groaned. "New recruits?" Gira asked. Gira's one of my four thirds. She and Mart are totally in love with each other, she just hasn't figured it out. She's got Hispanic heritage, and her family history was…doubtfully legal. In fact, most of it was illegal… "You're kiddin', right?"  
"Nope. But there are six of us who don't get them." Everyone perked up. "And that will be because I'm dragging them trans-global to a training seminar." Everyone perked down. "Those six are…myself, Molly, Gira, Mart, Tommy and Jon. Okay, scram, they're coming tomorrow. You five, and Juju, over with me." I led them over.

"We leave tomorrow at six sharp. Juju, you're coming as well." I turned and marched off, Juju at my heels.

"It's _them_, isn't it?" she asked softly. I looked at her.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's _them_, sweetie. It's _them_."

Wordlessly, Juju hugged me. She was there when I "died". She was there when I woke in the middle of the night, screaming bloody murder from nightmares. She was there. She knew. She understood. She believed I could fight it. I wasn't so sure.

Have you ever felt like you're caught between a hard place and another hard place? But you have one route of escape and one soft landing? What would you choose? The escape, the hard wall, the soft landing, or the hard wall? You'd go for the soft landing, right? But sometimes, like in my story, the soft place hides knives to cut, the escape gets blocked, and you're inexplicably repelled from one hard place and attracted to the other. I'm pushed from my past, of the Flock, and I'm pulled toward my present, Xeti. I'm caught with a desire to use the escape, but I can't, and I'm wishing I could use the soft landing, even though I knew that I'd die if I did.

I'm not who I was, believe me. I don't think I'll ever be who I was, unless _they _find me.

So you caught me. I'm hiding from my Flock. But I discovered I can't trust anyone, and they haven't thought to look in a submarine base (we actually have a sub base and a land base. Anytime I refer to the hangar, we're on the land base, any time I refer to the port, we're in the sub base. I don't normally specify…remind me if I don't tell you…) near Antarctica. I'm now a scientist (I know, the bitter irony, but I'm only apart time scientist-it's my cover), and I go by the name Diane Mumixam, to humans, to mutants, and to everyone else.

I don't want your pity. I don't want your help. I have two things that mean so much more. I have Juju. And I have Xeti. So if you're here to "help" me, back out and away, now. You don't need to know the rest of it.

.

..

…

….

…

..

.

Okay, hopefully, if you've been told to back out, you have. So, now that you know about me and Blue Lightning, I guess it's time…to start the ride.

##%$&&#

Angel sighed, glancing out of the window. It was sunny, but raining. That's what it was like on the day that Max had killed herself. But she didn't think Max had actually died. Her thoughts had decreased, but they hadn't totally stopped. She hadn't told anyone because of Max's letter.

Max just wanted them to have a good life.

"Angel, come on! We're leaving!" Nudge yelled from the door. Angel pushed herself up and met Nudge at the door. "We're going to Xeti now! That lady, Analisse, who accepted our application, was really nice! She said that we'd join Lightning, and that the leader, Di, was special, like us, and she said that Di had a daughter/sister, which I didn't understand, named Julie, and she said that Julie is about Gazzy's age, which is so cool! She's a year older, so I mean, not that close, but Analisse said that Julie's a pyrotechnic, and that she was one of the most promising people they had there!" Iggy finally shut Nudge up with a well-aimed piece of duct-tape.

"Thank you!" Gazzy yelled. Angel sighed. They'd all gotten over it. Even Fang. But she hadn't. She wasn't going to forget her Mom. She wasn't going to forget. Ever.

But what Angel didn't realize was that each and every one of them missed her and showed it in some quiet, private way, whether it was tears before they slept, a whispered prayer before facing the day, a journal, started as a long letter to Max, telling her about everything that's happened. Angel didn't know about Gazzy's nightmares, didn't know about Nudge's journal. Iggy kept his tears a secret, and Fang never told anyone about the scrapbook of Max he'd put together. Her family hid it from one another, but it was still there.

They never stopped missing her.

They never showed anyone that they did.

They still loved Max.


	4. Past, Meet the Future

**Hey, Luna here! Welcome back, to all of you! Thanks for putting up with me and my mega chapters...This one's about 2,000 words, so I hope you have time!**

**Buckle up, cause here...we...GO!!!**

**I only own Juju, Molly, Dag, Tritri, Jon, Gira, Mart, and any and all OCs. You may use them and Blue Lightning with permission...I have a feeling Rose would kick your behind though...**

I dragged five VERY sleepy Blue Lightning members and a very hyper Juju onto our plane thing. While they snored, very loudly, Juju and I piloted the plane. When we landed, I heard a very loud, unified snore coming from the back of the plane.

"Hey, Juju, wanna do the honors?" I asked. Juju grinned wickedly. She picked up an air horn, a megaphone and some minor explosives. We loved doing this.

Juju stood in the middle of the cabin. I held the megaphone, turning it on in the same second as she started the air horn and tossed the minor explosives.

_**EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! EEEEEEE!!!!! EEEEEEE!!!!**_ It echoed around the cabin, and the startled Blue Lightnings shot up, ready for battle.

"Good to know you're alive. Come on, Juju. We're here." Juju and jumped out the side door with our backpacks. The rest of the Blue Lightnings finally awoke and disembarked.

"Okay, you five. I lied. We're getting 'special' trainees. You five and I were chosen to train them. I'm here because of my supervisory position. You will be nice, but you will train them using any method necessary. Get it, got it, good." I turned and marched off, my BLs (I'll just call them that, it's easier) behind me.

"DIANE MUMIXAM! GET YOUR REAR END IN HERE, NOW!" I heard Katrina roar. We went into her office, Juju and I keeping up a dialogue as we did so.

"Juju?" I asked sweetly.

"Si, Di?" She replied, knowing exactly what I was doing.

"Are we late?"

"Why, no, Di! As a matter of fact, we're…" She glanced at her watch. "Three hours, twenty minutes and six seconds early!"

"So that means Tritri has no reason to get mad at me?"

"Of course not, Dini! Tritri shouldn't be mad because we're early!" Katrina blushed at that. But it stopped her, at least.

"Well, these are your six trainees." I poured on the attitude at her comment.

"Sorry, Tritri, you said five. Since me and Juju can't be bothered with trainees, we can only take five." I studied my nails. "And when I agreed to join, nothing was said about trainees. Besides, we're up to our ears in BLTs. Therefore, we can't take all of them." I take a good look at them and mentally reinforced my block. The youngest girl won't be getting in my mind.

"Diane Leanora Mumixam, you WILL take all six of these trainees. Five of them are special cases, one of them is normal." I sighed and flipped my hair over my shoulder.

"Fine. But I do assignments." Katrina scowled, but caved. I get the final say in all trainees.

"You, blondie. Midget. Nine year old. Head up. Look at me." The girl scowled at me. "Name, age, talent."

"Angel. Nine. And I can read minds."

"You'll be with…" I thought for a second. "Me and Juju. You will address me as Diane. And you will call Juju Julie until she or I approve your use of her nickname." Angel nodded.

"No, you communicate verbally here."

"Yes, Diane, I understand."

"Okay, next would be…You, blondie two, Eleven. Gazzy, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. You're working with Tommy. Tommy, raise your hand." Tommy did so. "Understood on both ends? Good."

"Yes, Diane, I understand."

"Next, you, fourteen year old. Dark hair, dark skin, Nudge, you'll get along well with Molly. Molly, hand up. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Next, blind, pyrotechnic, seventeen, you're working with Mart."

"Yes ma'am."

"To be clear, no explosives, on either end. Mart, no explosives. Iggy, no explosives."

"Fine, Di. Do I get ice cream?" Mart groaned.

"No ice cream. Okay, next, you, dark, emo, wearing black, Fang, you and Jon. Jon, hand up." Fang nodded curtly.

"Does verbally hold any meaning for you?"

"Yes, _ma'am._" Fang snarled. Seems like he was the only one who hadn't changed.

"That's all of the special cases, Di. The last one is normal, Ella."

"Ella, Gira. Pair up. Anything else, Tritri?"

"No, you should be good to go."

"BLTs, MOVE OUT!" I yelled. I grabbed Angel's hand and towed her out to the plane thing.

"Bacon, Lettuces, Tomatoes?" Fang muttered to Iggy, who grinned.

"BLUE LIGHTNING TRAINEES, RECRUIT! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" Juju raced onto the plane and grabbed the megaphone. Yelling into it, she managed to get everyone to obey. Juju has been around me WAY too long…

"Okay, BLTs, sit. We'll be there in about…ah…seven or eight hours. Juju and I pilot. You sit down, shut up, and listen to your orders. Angel. Get up here. Everyone else, bond with your mentor/trainee. You'll be seeing a lot of each other, since you'll be roomies!" I quickly ushered Juju and Angel into the cockpit before my people could kill me with the death glares.

"Angel, sit in that little seat, there. Juju, start takeoff sequence." Once we were up in the air, I talked to Angel and Juju for a while. Then, seven LOOOONG hours later, we landed. Once off the plane, I put all of them in the crowd of Trainees and marched up to the stage.

"TRAINEES! LISTEN UP! I am Diane Mumixam. You report to me. First, we will start off with the basics. Here in Lightning, there are seven people you obey without question. Those seven are myself, Molly, Dagger, Mart, Jon, Jane and Gira." Each of them lined up on the stage. "You disobey us, you are immediately mind-wiped and sent to a normal existence. You are lucky to be trained by some of the veterans of Blue Lightning. You are lucky to call yourself Blue Lightning Trainees. You are lucky to be working with myself. But with that luck comes responsibility. You will listen. You will obey. You will follow my orders to the letter, understood?" Various murmurs of assent came from each new trainee.

Molly took over. "You will room with your trainee/mentor. You will be inseparable. You will eat, sleep and breathe on the same beat. You will understand why this is so crucial to everyone's survival in your first day of training. Today, however, you will bond with and get to know your mentor and or trainee."

Dag stepped in. "Mentors, if we find out you ditched your trainee, you will promptly be kicked out of Blue Lightning and be forced to work in Ocean." Many of the Blue Lightnings shuddered at that.

"Are there any questions?" Someone raised their hand.

"Yes, blue shirt, third row back."

"Are there any special cases this year?"

"Yeah. We have five special cases. None of the regular trainees will be forced to work with them if it makes them uncomfortable, and vice versa, but we would like it if you could treat everyone the same. Because we're all family here, we try- Juju! Stop that!"

Juju jumped up to the stage, somersaulting neatly.

"Hey!" She yelled, and ducked as bullets came rocketing towards her. Reacting in the way any mom/sister hybrid would, I launched into the air with a powerful jump, and raced through the center isle, moving swiftly. I roundhouse kicked the gun out of their hand and quickly decked them.

"Solomon." My voice was quiet and deadly, but it seemed loud in the sudden silence. "Return to your barracks. Pack your things. You are dismissed. And if I ever see you around here again, you will be dealt with the most severe legal punishment I can come up with. You are hereby discharged." Then I turned and walked calmly back up to the stage. Jaws dropped, and I calmly addressed that.

"Yes, that is what happens when you disobey." The newbies were shocked; the mentors were trying to hide giggles. "Now that we've cleared that up, meet your martial arts training instructor, Solomon Myles!"

The man I had decked walked up to the stage. I high-fived him and tailed outta there before Solomon Myles could try to beat me up. Never worked-I was the only one who could best him. Hey, there's a reason why I'm the head of Blue Lightning!

The next morning, I cheerfully sounded the wake up siren at four-thirty. We never tell them just when the siren will sound. Even though everyone had the same uniform on, you could tell the new trainees from the mentors. The mentors were bright eyed and bushy tailed, completely used to being up at random times, while the trainees were far from awake. The only exceptions were Angel, Nudge, Gazzy, Iggy and Fang. Other than that, everyone new was half-asleep.

"Good morning, isn't it? I think we'll start with training. Solomon, Molly, and Dag will test you all. I will be testing everyone considered advanced. I warn you-prepare yourself to get knocked about." I yelled into the bullhorn. "Anyone caught slacking will be dropped off Blue Lightning immediately. Am I clear?"

My people said, "Ma'am, yes, ma'am." The newbies muttered "yeses" and "okays". That's how you tell them apart.

"Okay. Advanced people, you are…" I read off the list. "Julie Mumixam, Angel Rise, Gazzy Rise, Nudge Fleet, Iggy Rise, Fang Nicholson, Tory Mullenson, and Peter Brown. Advanced people, with me." I led them to a private training court.

"All right. You two, Angel and Juju. Show me what you got. And Juju? Don't hurt her too bad." I added. Two minutes later, Angel was on the floor with Juju sitting on her, examining her nails. Juju quickly jumped up and helped Angel up, saying, "It's not your fault. Di has been training me rigorously for…ih…two years. Almost three."

"Okay, next, I need Gazzy Rise and Nudge Fleet to show me what they got." Nudge and Gazzy exchanged glances, then attacked. It ended in a tie, since they wouldn't hit each other.

"You two can't attack each other, can you?"

"No ma'am." Nudge said, her eyes downcast.

"Fine then, you'll have to try me." I stood casually. "Go." They both attacked at the same time. They managed to hold for two minutes before surrendering.

"Wow…You're good…" Gazzy panted.

"You haven't seen me at my best. All of you, cept for Juju, try me. I'll be very, very surprised if you beat me." They all tried separately and then together. None of their attacks worked.

Fang seemed shocked, but didn't say anything. Surprise, surprise. Nudge started rambling.

"You know, the only person who's ever beaten all five of us was Max, and she died, like, three years ago, and so you can't be her, so I mean, maybe you're Max come back to life or something? Cause no one's that good, just naturally. I mean, well, yeah, only Max was that good, so you-" Thankfully Iggy clamped a hand over her mouth and everyone looked at me expectantly.

"It's called practice. I had to fight for my life the first fifteen years I was alive. Then I died and somehow survived. Then I spent two years training until I was the best of the best. I fight hard. I fight dirty. I've only been beaten twice. Once because I had been drugged and the other time because I was being careless. Any other times it was because I had to get beaten for the plan to work." Juju's jaw dropped. I'd never told anyone that. Then again, I'd never been around them on a training ground. So there you go. Diane summing up her life in two minutes. Whoopie.

"I want you each to pair up, and practice different kicks and blocks. If you have any questions or want a different partner, you go to Juju." I flicked a piece of paper at Juju, who caught it easily. "Juju comes to me if she has problems. But you go to Juju first." I went and helped out with the regular level newbies, hoping and praying they wouldn't check my arms for the scars.

Twenty-three people quit that afternoon, leaving only twenty-seven.

"Nice going," Dag told me. I snickered, then answered, "They were wimps. They would burn out sooner or later anyways."

"Good point. Plus, they were using up our food. And it was getting crowded."

"What worries me is how many we'll lose when they realize its not all fun and games."

"Fun and games? Is that what you call it?" He asked.

"I mean it, Dag. You've been on as many missions as I have. Don't you worry how they'll react when we start losing people? There's a lot of bad stuff coming soon. I guess that's why Tritri was desperate to get us so many. But I wonder how many will quit when they realize so many of us die." There was nothing he could say to that. I walked away in silence.


	5. Mission Time!

**And we're back...Currently, I'm waiting for Etta to check her e-mail so I can post...obviously this was written before I posted...**

**I hope you like what happens! Oh, and I've got something to say. According to the stat meter, 221 people have read this story. According to the stat meter, there are 5 favorites and 12 story alerts. But according to the stat meter, only eleven of you have felt compelled to review. Obviously, I'm a bit ticked at that. If you're going to STORY ALERT, you should COMMENT. It's REALLY annoying to have 4 of those reviews from ONE person, and 3 of those reviews from one person, and another 3 of those from one person, making it, oh, 4 different people reviewing. If you're going to read, you're going to review. The next chapter isn't going up until I get at least six reviews for this chapter. Then we'll go from there. I think the fact that, on average, thirty people are reading per chapter, but only two people, on average, are reviewing per chapter.**

**Sorry for the rant-I don't own Max Ride. Wish I did, though...Max and Fang would've been together in Virginia...**

One week later, I had a LOOONG discussion about a mission with Tritri. That ended up not so well. That was why I was yelling into a bullhorn for mission attendees.

"Molly, Mart, Jon, Tommy, Gira, Dag, Angel Rise, Gasman Rise, Nudge Fleet, Iggy Rise, Ella Martinez, Peter Brown. Report to me. Now. The rest of you, martial arts training. Don't let them slack, Solomon!"

The Flock shot a look at Fang, then got up and followed us through a door at the back of the stage. "Right," I announced. "Mart, Jon, Tommy, Gira, Dag, and BLT's. Intelligence—that's spies, Gazzy—have reported that a new branch of Itex in Pretoria , South Africa has started new experiments on humans. Our goal is to stop them. This should be a relatively easy mission, and Tritri has given good reports on all of you, or you wouldn't be here." I glared at the six of them.

"What about Fang?" Nudge demanded.

Guess what? Di the eternally prepared didn't have an explanation. It took me a couple seconds to reply. "Fang already knows what we're hoping you'll learn from this mission. He's staying to learn how things work 'round here."

Gazzy looked like he would complain, so I snapped, "_Face it_. You're going, he's not. Don't argue."

"The only one who gives us orders is Max," Iggy snarled.

I snarled right back. "I don't know who Max is and I don't care. All I care about is that she's not here right now and I am. You'll listen to _me,_obey _my _orders, and you'll do it _now_."

"Yes, ma'am!" Iggy yelled.

"Right. We get geared up and then we go to the landing strip. We'll use the solar planes; we're trying to get in as silently as possible. We'll be two to a bird. Except for Juju, Angel and I. Got it?"

"Bird?" Ella asked.

"Bird. Plane. Flying thing."

The flock seemed to be discussing something. Iggy shook his head emphatically. Nudge bit her lip. Finally Iggy nodded. I raised my eyebrows. "Well?"

"I thought you should know. We have wings. We can fly."

Behind me, my BL's gasped, but I just nodded. "I know. Tritri told me, but in case we have spies, I thought we should keep them secret." Like, a secret weapon.

"Anything else? No? Good. Let's get going."

It took us longer to get kitted up than expected, but then, it always does. Finally, _finally_everyone got to the landing strip and into their bird. "Nudge, you're with, um, Jon. Everyone else, trainers and BLT's pair up. Yes, Juju, you're with me. Aren't you always? 'Kay, guys, try to teach your trainees how to pilot the planes. Once we're in the air this time, remember!"

"Yes, Di," my BL's chorused, and grinned. The BLTs looked kinda scared.

It turned out that Angel could not pilot the plane.

Understatement of my life. It was like the plane _hated_her. We were in unusually gentle, calm, warm air, with no clouds, no turns to make, and only a tailwind. That's when I gave her the controls. Her hands had barely _touched_the joystick (yes, we use joysticks in our birds. Deal) when the plane lurched to the side. Juju grabbed her seatbelt. I reached over and steadied the plane. "No, Angel, there's really nothing to do right now, see? Keep your hands on the joystick, just in case, but don't turn it yet, alright?"

Angel nodded, but after two excruciating hours I gave up and just piloted the plane myself.

A voice came over the radio. "Something wrong with my engine—I'm landing…"

"Dag," I asked calmly, but inside I was screaming. Malfunctions are NOT good on a mission. In fact, we regard them as the worst possible luck. "How bad?"

"I can make it to the ground, but I doubt I'll be able to join you. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing I can repair fast." I looked at the ground. We'd just reached the tip of South Africa .

Dammit! I'd had Dag or Molly from the start. I trusted them with all our lives. That's why Molly was commanding the base and Dag was with me on this mission. Before them, I'd had Fang. _Except for Germany ,_ I reminded myself.

Yeah, like _that_had gone well.

"Gira, go down with Dag."

"Roger," she said. On my radar I saw her plane join Dag's in a gentle descent. Five minutes later, they both landed safely, and we all breathed sighs of relief.

"Gira, Dag, signing off. We'll check in regularly," they told us.

Which left… Mart with Ig, Tommy with the Gasman, Jon with Nudge, Me, Angel, and Juju. Nine would have to do.

"Dini?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Dag has all the weapons."

Well, _crap._

In my life, there is no such thing as a coincidence. Well, I guess I might be wrong… for once. But one of our biggest rules here in BL is to always trust your gut, and I would be the worst of hypocrites to ignore mine now.

"Abort!" I yelled into the radio. "There is a traitor among us. Repeat, there is a traitor among us. Abort!"

"Di? I didn't mean…"

"Maybe it's a coincidence, Juju, maybe not, but I'm not betting all our lives on it." Then, to the radio, "Circle back to Dag and Gira, then land."

We landed in some dry, savannah-ish place with no trees and less water.

"This sucks," Gazzy said.

"Okay, people! Get all our food out and all our weapons outta the planes. We need to see how long we can last, and if we can turn around and get back to base or not."

As way of food, we didn't have much, but five of the planes still worked. Attacking Itex might be too risky, because they were ready for us, but—

Juju tugged at my sleeve. "Di. I want to keep going. We have to save those mutants."

Everyone stared at her.

"It's not a bad idea…" Dag said.

"Are you crazy? We'll get killed. And once were dead, they'll kill us again."

Everyone was now looking at me, wondering what I would say.

"You guys are right. It's dangerous."

"But, _Di,_" Juju began.

I cut her off. "I'm not going to be responsible for anyone here dying. If you go in there, it's because you wanted to. No one forced you. So. If you're going, say 'aye.' Me and Juju are in."

"Aye," said Dag instantly. I grinned inwardly. For an Eraser, Dag was on our side to the death. It was all because I'd been the one to save him. Well, me and Molly. Together, we'd pieced together his past, but we weren't going to tell him just yet.

"No," Mart said, looking directly at Gira. "It's too dangerous."

She just scowled and said, "Aye. Jon?"

"No. I'm with Mart. They knew were coming and we can't risk all these BLT's."

Tommy frowned. "Aye. We came for a mission, we won't back away because of technology failure." My mouth quirked at the understatement.

"That's five to two," I muttered. "Trainees, you vote too."

The Flock frowned. "No," Iggy said. "It's not right without Fang. We already lost Max, it feels wrong to go on a mission without him."

"But, Iggy, those are mutant like us! They're probably kept in dog crates and experimented on and everything… We have to stop it!" That was Angel.

"I'll take that as a yes. The rest of you?"

"We go on. We're not giving up," said Gazzy.

"Iggy's right," Nudge whispered. "It used to be six of us. After Germany we swore we would never split up again. But then Max died, and now it's only five. We've left Fang back at the base, we have to go back!"

Peter sneered at them. "Aye. We aren't cowards. Let the children go back. We'll get on with the mission."

Which irritated me big time, cause he's older than I am, but I said, "Eight to four. Those of you who said no, I'll let you stay here, if you want. We'll pick you up on the way back."

"No," Mart said, without taking his eyes off Gira.

"No," Jon agreed. "We're together."

"Together," Nudge repeated, and Iggy nodded.

"So that's all of us? Good. I say its four, five more hours of flying to get to Pretoria . These planes are partly solar, so we can't fly at night, and we can't have a heavy load. What we don't need, we burn. That includes your plane, Dag. Can't have anyone getting a hold of our technology. We will split cargo and people among the other planes, but we have to keep it light. Solar and hydrogen can only go so far."

In the end, we left most of our food and none of our gear behind. We had to split the load among the planes. Dag ended up with a very, very gassy Gasman and Tommy. I almost felt sorry for Gazzy when Dag exploded over a particularly loud fart. Almost. I enjoyed the giggles coming from a slaphappy Tommy. Mental note: No caffeine for Tommy, ever again. Actually, no caffeine for ANYONE. The giggles were going to drive me crazy. I radioed Tritri.

"Katrina, we've had a problem." Everyone shut up and listened.

"Di, what do you mean?"

"Someone sabotaged Dag's plane. We're halfway there, and we're just about to land for the night."

"You flyin' or floatin'?" Analisse's voice washed over me. I closed my eyes, and then scanned the area with energy waves. They drained me, but they sensed stuff that radar missed. I heard some of the newbies murmur questions about flying and floating…I'll explain later…

"Flyi-DAMMIT!" I roared, sensing something cloaked in power coming at us.

"Diane, what's wrong?" Katrina demanded.

"Large mass of NTs coming at us. We're too overloaded because of the plane crash for defense. These birds don't have enough firepower to fight them, and the sun is starting to set. We have another ten minutes in the air, if we're lucky. We're outnumbered, twenty to one. In short, we're doomed."


	6. DoomedMax?

**I'm so, so sorry! This should've been posted yesterday, but my BETA, Etta, refused to BETA it...she didn't BETA this, because I told her the deadline was five, and she ignored my e-mails, so...I'm posting it anyway. Etta, if you're reading this, I'm mad at you.**

**These updates will probably slow down to only twice a week, cause I've got writers block...I know what needs to happen, I'm just struggling with actually getting it there.**

**Another long chapter, guys...**

**Ten reviews this time, please? And if you have the time, please read Because She's Her, a small one-shot that I wrote. Four reviews on that, and I'll add another chapter, of Gazzy...**

**Don't own it, so don't even bother asking.**

**Luna**

_"In short, we're doomed."_

"Alright, Di, we're sending out the supersonic." I swore at Analisse's attempt at reassuring me.

"No, you can't." Juju caught my eye and nodded agreement. Everyone else just looked shocked.

"If you send that jet, they'll know we know they're there. The NTs haven't realized we're here. If we land silently, we may be able to escape notice. That jet will be the death of us. You can't." Dag jumped in on this conversation.

"Di, it's our only chance. We have to let them send it."

"Dagger Lewis, may I remind you who found you, taught you to speak and then raised you from your amnesia? May I remind you who the leader of Blue Lightning is? May I remind you that I've been doing this for my whole life? Would it trouble you to listen to me?"

"No, but-"

"But nothing, Dagger. That jet will take three hours to get here. We have eight and a half minutes of airtime left. The NTs will reach us in six. We won't make it. We have to land, and we have to tough it out." I heard silence from everyone else. "We agreed to finish this mission. I will end it. But if anyone wants the jet to come get them and give away their position, speak now, or forever be silent about it."

Everyone was silent. I could hear everyone breathing. "Then let's land. Katrina, we'll be in touch."

Naturally, everyone was way freaked about the NTs. Or the RBLs (Regular Blue Lightning) were until I put my energy shield up. The BLTs still freaked. Until Dag…um… explained…about my talent. Not about the wings, though, thank heaven and hell for that. No, what he did was call everyone up and had them show their talent. In my case, it was making floating blue bubbles, boxes, moving stuff, etcetera. Jon showed his water manipulation talen…Dag morphed into Eraser, and you should have _seen_ their reactions. It was hilarious until I explained about finding Dag in that canyon.

_"Molly, I found someone!" I yelled. Molly raced over to me, popping in and out of view through the smoke._

_"Who?" Just then, the man stirred. "Holy crud, Di, it's an Eraser!"_

_"A…a what?" He groaned. He couldn't be older than I, and I knew the newer Erasers looked their age. We couldn't count on expiration dates, but sometimes they fell into comas and woke up more bloodthirsty. We'd have to be careful._

_"Who are you?" I asked softly. "How did you get here?"_

_"I…I'm…" he blinked. "I don't know who I am." I helped him up._

_"DIANE MUMIXAM! WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Molly screeched. I just looked at her, coolly reminding her that her hair was on fire. She looked away and slowly, the flames died._

_"Molls, I need to help him. It's in me to help others. I just HAVE to." He looked at me in awe._

_"Are you an angel? I remember that angels are people sent to save." Molly snorted._

_"Okay, so we're keeping it, what are we calling it?"_

_"What's your name?" I asked softly, knowing he'd listen better to me than Molly._

_"I…I don't know," he said, after a moment's hesitation._

_"Well then, um…" I spotted a dagger shaped scar on his forearm. "Let's call you Dagger. Dagger Lewis. That seems to fit, doesn't it?" He grinned at Molly, and she actually grinned back. _

_"Yeah. Dagger. Dag." He whispered, turning the two words over in his mouth. "Thanks, um…"_

_"Di. And this is Molly."_

_"Thanks, Di. Hi, Molly." I shook his hand, and then Molly and Dag shook hands awkwardly. I could tell at that moment they would end up together. Of course I didn't tell them, though. I didn't want to be dead…because both of them would kill me if I told…_

_"Then let's go. Dag, do you remember anything?" His pitch black eyes bored into mine._

_"No."_

_"Well, then, we'll help you remember." Molly linked onto his arm and I grabbed his other arm. We helped him to our bird and Dag's been with us ever since._

"He can be trusted." My voice was ice cold. "If any of you don't think you can handle it, I want to know now. We will send you back home in the morning."

"He's an ERASER!" Gazzy yelped.

"He's one of my best friends. At the moment, I trust him more than I trust any of you." Angel shivered a bit. "As a matter of fact, there are four people other than myself here I can trust not to be the traitor. Mart, Gira, Dag, and Juju. The rest of you could be." I sighed. "I trust each of you in a way, but the rest of you could be traitors. You're all still new here. I don't know who to trust. And yes, Jon, Tommy, you're under suspicion." I pushed my hand through my hair, which I did when I was stressed. "I'm taking first watch. Who wants to sit up with me?" Angel raised her hand. "Fine, Angel. Everyone else, get some sleep. Dag, you and…um, Iggy will have next watch."

Angel and I sat at the edge of the camp, listening and watching for something-anything, really.

"So is there anything you wanna tell me, Angel?" I spoke softly, carefully trying not to wake anyone.

"Um…yeah. Di, are…are you…are you Max?"

Oh, crap. "Who's Max?" I had to lie. I had to, even though I hated lying to her… "Maybe I look like Max…triggering memories, or something…" It's not an outright lie!

"Max was my…mom, I guess. I mean, not my blood mom, but she and Fang raised me from when I was a baby. She vanished three years ago, and everyone thinks she's dead, since she threw herself off a cliff without her wings open. I guess I was hoping she wasn't really dead, that she'd come back." She started crying.

"Oh, sweetie…" I pulled her into a hug. She curled into my side, sobbing. "You miss her a lot, don't you?" She nodded miserably. "But she's still here, you know…"

"Wha…whaddaya mean?" Angel mumbled, her eyes big, but still swimming in tears.

"Well, let me explain. My story works best for this. When I was eight, my mother died. My dad didn't know anything about babies, so I had to raise my youngest sister Allison from birth. When I was ten, we moved to a whole new town and no one liked me because I was always taking Allison with me, as well as my two triplet brothers, Freddie and Ian and my younger brother, Greg and my other younger sister, Nadine with me. The boys weren't any help, since they didn't know what to do. When I was twelve, my dad died, and I had to raise my whole family, my two triplets included. The government got involved at fourteen, and I had to run for my life with my family. They wanted to test on us. That's how I got my genetic abnormalities. At fourteen and three quarters, I got fed up and ran away. My family never came looking for me, even though I saw they had many chances…I watched them for a while. Then I came here. I was in an accident about a month after I ran away. I was invited to be in Blue Lightning. Two months after that, and I was the youngest ever commander in the history of Xeti. Now, three years later, I'm still the commander. But I've never forgotten my family, no matter how I tried. I remember them with this necklace." It was six tiny heart charms with their initials in them. "But I remember them somewhere else too."

"Where?" Angel asked.

I grinned. "This is so overused, so clichéd, but so true. Right here." I tapped my heart. "I love them, so they stayed right there. It's true for you, too." She pressed a hand to her heart. "Because you love Max, she's there."

"Is your family still alive?" I knew she'd ask that, but I was unprepared. It took me a moment to answer.

"Yeah, Angel. They're alive. I saw them recently, and they didn't recognize me. So I ran, again."

"I hope they figure it out soon, Di."

"I hope so, too, Angel. But maybe you and your family want to stand in for them until then?" She nodded enthusiastically, all of her tears gone now. "You're a lot like Allison, you know that? I called her Sunny." So we chatted quietly, still observing, until it was time to wake Dag and Iggy for the next watch.

I only fell into my recharging sleep, not my deep sleep. I heard everything discussed that night, knew that Angel told Iggy about my past and being a substitute family. I heard Dag mumble something about Blue Unicorns in his sleep…yeah, only Molly and I know about Dag's irrational fear of Blue Unicorns…bad experiments at the School where he was…really, that's the only thing Erasers are afraid of, turns out…Molly used that to do evil the first two months we knew Dag.

So in the morning, we were packed up, ready to go when I realized someone was missing.

"Where's Peter?"


	7. NTs Attack! Gira?

**Short, but action packed chapter. I'm posting an informational bit too, at the bottom. I realized I never told you about the NTs (New Threats) or the branches of Xeti. So that will be at the bottom.**

**Disclaimer: I believe we've gone over this. This is fanfiction, so therefore I am a FAN, and I'm not JP.**

_"Where's Peter?"_

"BATHROOM!" Peter yelled from behind a tree. The camp was suddenly silent.

"GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS!" Juju suddenly yelled and everyone started laughing.

"Well, let's go." Once Peter finished, we all clambered into our birds. We were up in the air and off like rockets with the NTs being none the wiser. Or so we thought.

A hundred of them came at us at once, firing a steady stream of bullets. Luckily, my people were trained to react. We rose straight up in the air, spiraling, in what I call "swallow formation"--no formation at all, but constantly moving in a random pattern.

"Winged people, grab a gun and out of the planes," I commanded over the mike. Juju handed a gun to Angel and ejected her out of the bird. Then she settled back in the passenger seat and grabbed the gun controls. She always stays with me--she's the best shot I've ever seen. I kept half an eye on them. My heart leaped as I watched the rest of the flock rise out of their planes. How I wished I could fly...

But I couldn't, and that was that. _Concentrate__, Di_, I told myself, and shot down past the others, freefalling, Juju firing as I flew. I heard several explosions, and saw several other planes crash in a cloud of flames and dust. Ouch.

Another couple crashes behind me; the others had joined my in my dive. Over half the enemies, dead or fleeing. But it still left, what, fifty?

Using my power, I stalled the plane, making a sharper turn than than it could have normally. Sweat dripped into my eyes--I wasn't used to moving anything this big.

Juju shot again. Each shot brought down at least one of the mutants--she's that good.

I heard explosions and grinned as I saw Iggy and Gazzy flying away from a ball of fire. We'd given them the best explosives money could buy--better, actually.

Gira and Ella's plane shot towards the cloud of NT's, firing. Mart's was a second behind them. The NT's scattered as they showed no signs of slowing. Finally, they beat a retreat.

"Yes!" I shouted. Juju punched the air, and I heard cheers coming over the Mike. We'd won, without a single casualty!

"Back in the planes," I ordered the Flock.

Suddenly I heard a roar. Oh, great. Katrina'd sent the supersonic. Well, it was too late now anyway.

I glanced at Juju and saw that she was white and open-mouthed. "Juju?"

"Di, _look_." She whispered.

I looked, and gasped. The plane wasn't ours, it was theirs. It was huge. And it was coming for us.

"Fly, fly, get out of here!" I screamed into the mike. They didn't need telling twice. We fled at maximum speed, dodging the flashes of red light that shot past us into the dusky plains.

"We're hit, we're hit!" Screamed a voice. It was Ella.

"How bad?" I asked, fighting to keep control of my voice. I glanced back. They were spiraling out of control. My breath caught in my throat. "Eject," I choked.

Four seconds later--the longest four seconds in my life--Two white parachutes spread out, gleaming in the dusky light. Beacons. Oh, snap

I flew back to get them, Mart flying next to me at breakneck speed. Hopefully we'd make it...

Three faint shapes appeared out of nowhere. NT's. "Faster, faster, come on," I muttered to my plane, but it was slowing down. No that the sun had set, NT's appeared out of nowhere. The parachutes fell limp to the ground.

"No!" I screamed. "Gira! Ella!"

No answer. I felt a tear stream down my cheek and wiped it away before Juju saw.

She sent off a flare. It exploded near the five figures. Wait, five? I breathed a sigh of relief. So Ella and Gira were still alive.

Alive, and being carried off to hell on earth by what had to be the ugliest mutant alive.

"Di, what's going on?" said Katrina over the earpeice.

"Gira and Ella've been captured. I'm going after them," I said curtly, trying to gain as much speed as I could. There wasn't much hydrogen left...

"No, you are _not._Di, land. That's an order."

"No," I snapped.

Suddenly the plane stopped responding to my controls and braked so hard I was slammed against my seat. Then we landed--roughly.

Katrina snickered, then announced to everybody, "Land!"

"You can't even _fly,"_I muttered rebelliously. "And what was that, anyway?"

"New technology.. If you're knocked out or the plane is highjacked, we can control it from base."

"What if base is highjacked?"

"It's called a _password,_Di," she told me, exasperated.

"It's called _hackers,_Katrina," I mimicked.

The rest of the birds landed.

It felt just like it had when we'd lost Angel. Only a thousand times worse. Because this time, it was entirely my fault.


	8. AN Read or stuff won't make sense! Info

Hey, Juju here. You guys needed these files? NTs, Lightning Info...welcome to the world of Ocean, who handle all of this stuff...

**NTs (New Threats) are creatures created by Itex. Itex gave them crocodile bodies and lion heads, but that's not all. Razor sharp fangs and teeth, coming from snake DNA, adorn their mouth, and, for some odd reason, they have acidic spit. Some of the newer NTs have wings, and let's just say that it's not pretty when we have to fight them.**

**NEs (New Erasers) are the new version of Erasers. Obviously. They look their age and don't have expiration dates. They're wickedly strong and look like normal people. Sometimes, they have wings, sometimes, they don't. We don't normally fight them...they seem to leave us alone because of Dag. Dag is an NE, but he transferred to our side after being abandoned for dead. When they morph, they've got wickedly sharp teeth and claws, and they make werewolves sound like kittens. Just saying. But Dag apparently was one of their leaders, and they steer clear of him...and thusly us.**

**Hans Vaulder is the leader. Totally hates my guts because his son, Jay, decided to take Di's side after Vaulder messed with Jay's DNA. Yeah, not the smartest move. Vaulder REALLY, REALLY wants to dissect Di alive, and he'd do anything to get to her...including killing his son, so...yeah. Di doesn't like him. I don't like him either.**

Okay, those are our threats....and this is the Xeti info below. Knock yourselves out....

**Okay, now you need Lightning Info. There are four branches in Xeti. Branch One, Lightning. There are three Lightnings, Red, Blue and Green. First up is Blue Lightning, Branch One-A. It's headed by none other than Di. She also leads the other Lightnings, but her specialization is Blue Lightning. We handle field missions and fights. We're the ones who bust into Itex and help people out. We train, we fight. We take the risks. Branch One-B, there's Green Lightning. Headed by Emerald. She's the worlds greatest interrogator. Green Lightning handles interrogation. They're the ones who take the info the Blue Lightnings get, and they process it, give it back to us, and then interrogate any prisoners we come back with. They're our base operators, our sensitive retrieval team. They don't go out into the field-they protect Base. On to Branch One-C. Red Lighting. Weapons and Explosives. The Reds are headed by Tory. She's like a sister to me and Di, but we've got this major issue on who's better between us. Blue and Red are close, but in a rivalry. Red is also the mechanics of Xeti, and they build all of our gadgets and stuff. Reds are always trying to outdo us, in the hand vs weapons theory. Their explosives are sweet, though.**

**That's the three Lightnings. Branch Two, that's Phoenix. Ironically, they're headed by the one and only Ice. Love her or hate her, you gotta respect her leadership skills. Phoenix handles mutant healing (which is Branch Two-A, called Phoenix Feathers) and relocation (Branch Two-B, Phoenix Flight). They also do everything medical related (Branch Two-C, Phoenix tears). So we love, love, LOVE Flame. Branch Three. Tsunami. Tsunami is focused on the future. They're the ones trying to save the planet WITHOUT killing off half the people. They're finding ways to help us and reduce the population safely (Branch Three-A), or cure cancer (Branch Three-B). They're the ones who discovered Flame's de-mutation process, and they're always improving it (Branch Three-C). There's a whole lot more I'd like to tell you about Tsunami, but I can't. It's super high level clearance. Just know, they ran out of alphabet letters. They had to start using roman numerals, about two years ago. Now. Branch Four. Ocean. Information. Ocean is the branch that keeps Xeti secret, keeps the world from knowing of our battle. We'd be in such deep trouble without Ocean, we wouldn't even exist. Ocean is our information center. Every single bit of info regarding Itex, every piece of knowledge we can gather, Ocean processes it. But to a Lightning, Ocean is the worst thing that can happen to you. Once you're a Lightning, Ocean is a boring, thankless task. Lightning is where the action is.**

So yeah, there's your info. Um...I gotta go now...I shouldn't be typing this up, but I am...

"HEY, JUJU, BACK AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER!" Uh-oh. Um, bye!


	9. Katrina's tickedMeet Ben and Mal

**Okay, next chapter, and this is up to you. Etta and I are in this battle of the IMs, since we're not really in the same area...or state, really. She thinks Di should sing well...and I disagree. The type of song we decided she would sing if she was good was "Anthem", by Superchic[k], who are pretty good, in my opinion. But if you don't think Di should sing that well, lemme know...IN A REVIEW! Otherwise, her singing talent goes down the toilet and I have Molly sing that. MUAHAHAHAHAHA! But Di would never go professional. Too much fame. She'd probably decapitate all of her fans...**

**Ella: Etta and Luna have lost it.**

**Rose: Did you ever notice how similar your names are? Ella and Etta?**

**Luna: CAN WE GET BACK ON TRACK, PEOPLE?!**

**Rose: Not until you thank the muse!!**

**Luna: Fine. Thank you, Rose, for being the muse.**

**Ella: And she doesn't own the characters. Yeah. She owns Juju and Molly, and Dag, and Peter, and Katrina and Analisse, and Vaulder and Jay, and...**

**Rose: This could take a while...**

**Luna: You're telling me.**

**~~Three Hours Later~~**

**Ella and Rose: And also the location, but I'm not sure if you own Di, because she's Max in disguise as someone else....**

**Luna: WE GET IT ALREADY! Yeah, whatever. Let's just get started before Ella goes into her rant again. And Rose sings along...**

**~ ~ ~ ~I AM LUNA! THIS IS MY STORY!!!~~~~~~~~~~**

"Di. Di. DI." Katrina was yelling through the commset at me that night when we stopped for the night. "Di, breathe. Max." She hissed quietly, and I stopped my pacing.

"I know you're upset. I know you haven't lost any Lightnings for the past…year. I know you want Gira and your sister back, but now isn't the time for you to freak out. You have to finish this mission."

"Oh, really? One of the people I consider family, and one of the people who are my responsibility, who I care more about than I ever did anything else, are missing, and you're worried about the mission? Katrina, I hate to break it to you, but if saving them means failing the mission, I'm failing the mission." I snarled. Everyone in camp stared at me.

"Di, relax. We're tracking them now."

"You better be. You've got ten minutes. If I don't hear from you by then, I am going after them, by myself, and you can't stop me." I yanked the earbud from my ear and snarled.

Juju pulled me into a crouch, and hissed, "If you blow this because of Gira and Ella, you do know that Gira will kill you, right?"

"Oh, and Mart's not ready to do that already, like he's doing to that tree?" Juju glanced at Mart. He was viciously attacking a tree. It was starting to resemble toothpicks. Or it was until Dag decided to sit on him. But Dag went flying. It was official-Mart was ticked.

Ten minutes from my oh-so-lovely conversation with Katrina, my commset vibrated. I put the earpiece back in.

"Do you have coordinates?"

"Yes, Di, but I can't give them to you." Oh, it was Analisse. They must have realized I wasn't listening to anyone, so they brought in the big guns.

"Why not? They're my people, my responsibility."

"Because. We need you to get Ben and Mal out of Pretoria."

"Ben and Mal are in Pretoria. When exactly did you find this out? When did you find out they were in Pretoria? Where there's an Institute? Where VAULDER IS?" My voice rose to a shriek on the last two words and the camp fell silent again. Juju grabbed her commset and tuned in.

"Ben and Mal are the priority. Without Ben and Mal, we're sunk. I know Gira and Ella are Lightnings, but they can handle themselves. But Vaulder is running experiments. And if you don't get them now, Ben and Mal are goners. And that means Xeti…will fail. M, you know that." Analisse was dead serious. Oh, I forgot to mention. Analisse calls me M. No one knows why, except for me.

I closed my eyes and hissed in a breath.

"Di, listen to reason. We have to save Ben and Mal first." Juju's voice was full of regret. "You said it yourself, Gira's one of the best fighters we've got, and with Ella's history, I wouldn't be surprised if Ella could kick butt as well as Gira."

My voice was tight when I spoke. "You know exactly what I swore, Juju. I can't leave anyone who is for our cause behind. Ben and Mal-they can fight as well as I can. They've beaten Solomon. They've almost beaten me. Gira and Ella haven't gotten half as far as they have." Everyone waited for what I would say next. Suddenly, another voice chimed in. It was crackling with static, but we could hear it mostly well.

"Di, it's Gira." Gira sounded hoarse, like she'd been in a fight.

"Gira, what's going on?" I demanded.

"Ella and I are safe-we're in Pretoria. They took us to the Institute there." Her tone wavered slightly, and I instantly knew she was scared.

"How are you contacting us?" Stupid question to ask, Katrina.

"They didn't find my commlink. I got separated from Ella. They were taking her for tests." I suddenly heard a scream through the audio.

"Dammit. That's Ella. Hurry." Then she was gone.

"Analisse, Katrina, you know my answer. I have to get them out." I heard a sigh.

"Do what you think is best, M. Over."

"Over."

"Over."

"Bye." I shut down the commlink. "You want an explanation of what happened, right?" I got various nods and murmurs of assent.

"Gira and Ella were kidnapped. They're in Pretoria, along with two of the people we were sent to retrieve. I never told you about these two because I didn't know they were here. I was under the assumption that we were simply destroying another School. I was wrong. This School has two of our best people in it. They were captured about a year ago. The only time I've lost any of my people to anything other than death. We thought they were dead until a transmission about a month ago. Their names are Ben and Mal. We've gotta get everyone out of the School, get Gira, Ella, Ben and Mal back to Base, and we gotta destroy it. Luckily, we've got two Reds here. Juju."

She tumbled over to our bird and pulled out a few boxes. I used energy pushes to put them in front of Gazzy and Iggy.

"These are our explosives. Make them stronger, better. Normally, that's Gira's job, but she's not here right now. And Mart, stop beating up the poor tree. It's never done anything to you. If I have to sedate you, I will." He sat and breathed in through his nose, fighting to remain calm.

"Any questions? Anyone?"

"Um, yeah. How come we never knew about Ben and Mal?" Tommy asked.

"Because…they're…Because they're special." I blurted.

"Special case, or just plain special?"

"Both. Mal's special with fire and explosives-Red adored her, and Ben was an excellent member of Green. Nothing got past Ben's interrogation tactics."

"So he's pretty scary, right?" Jon asked.

Juju and I started laughing. "What's so funny?" Iggy demanded.

"You'll see…you'll see…"

~ ~ ~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~ ~~~I NEED A PAGEBREAK!

"Ben. Ben, they're coming." Mal hissed at her younger sibling.

"Damn. Okay, act dead." Mal grinned wickedly and lay down, slowing her breathing until she looked dead. Ben did the same.

"Crap, crap, crap! Zeta and Gamma are out! Who was keeping track of their stats?" A whitecoat started to scream.

Someone picked up the two siblings and carried them into a room. Suddenly, Mal leapt to life and stabbed the whitecoat with the knife she had palmed earlier. "Ben, back up. We gotta get going!" Ben raced for the door, followed by Mal. They snuck through the hallways until they found the control center.

"Found it." Ben called and unscrewed a panel. Pulling wires aside, she grabbed a metal box. Mal opened it quickly and pulled out two knives. Checking the sharpness, she slashed a line across the wall.

"Oh, very good…" Ben breathed. She grabbed two more knives from the box, along with a spare commlink. Plugging it into her ear, she tuned it to the emergency frequency.

"Guys, you there?"

"BEN? Is Mal there too?"

"Yeah, she's here. Look, we're loose in Vaulder's lab, Pretoria."

"We know." This time it was Katrina. "We've got Di and a team on the way."

"Why would Di be coming for us?"

"Well, she was on her way there anyway. And two members of her team, a recruit and a third were captured and are there. We need you two to find them, and start breaking everyone out. Julie's coming to find you. She should be there in…three…two…on-"

"Hey, Mal, Ben." Juju said, dropping from a vent in the ceiling.

"Juju!" Mal hugged her best friend. "You ready?" Juju unsheathed a knife of her own.

"Duh! You two ready to roll?" Ben slashed two letters into the wall. BR. Initials. Mal carved her own initials beside them. MR. Juju did the same. JM.

Then they grabbed the box and hurried down the halls to meet up with everyone else.

~ ~~~ THE PAGEBREAK THING HATES ME FOR SOME REASON!!

"Ben and Mal, Angel. Angel, Ben and Mal. Okay, peoples. Two of my team--Gira, whom you've seen, and Ella, her BLT, have been captured, and were rescuing them. We have one hour, forty-five minutes. Any ideas where they are?" I asked after hugging them both tight.

"If they're being experimented on, they'll be in the basement..." Mal said. "I'll lead you there."  
I nodded. "Let's go."

We heard the screams coming from the basement ten minutes before we reached it. We'd run into a couple whitecoats, nothing big--but my gut was telling me this wouldn't last. There was trouble coming. Trembling and trying not to show it, I hacked the keypad, oiled the hinges, and pushed open the door.

Ten whitecoats were working in a lab and spun to face us. Some of them pulled guns from their pockets, but Juju, Angel and Mal had them all out in a second, except for one.

Ben kicked him. "Two girls, about fifteen, one brown hair, one black, blue eyes both. All human. They were taken in about three hours ago. Where are they?"

"I don't know."

She kicked him again.

Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. Speaking fast, he said, "Third door on the right."

"Liar," Angel hissed.

"Tell me," Ben snarled, leaning close in to his face. Quite terrifying for an eight year old. "Or you will regret being born."

"There's a hidden door behind the last table. Kick the leg and it opens. Go down the steps. Code is 5, big T, little a, 3, 3, 9, big B, little W, 0."  
Angel and Ben both nodded simultaneously, and Juju knocked him out.

"Let's go."


	10. Welcome Home, Everyone!

**Omigosh, I'm so sorry! Zeta, Omega, Mu, Gamma, I didn't mean to take that long, honest to God! Dang, I used God's name in vain...I'm in trouble...but last night, my older sister, Marin, arrived from Japan. She's an exchange student, and I've been waiting to meet her for about four months. I call her Mari. Which, I just realized, is Max and Ari...so never mind.**

**Since I'm so late updating, here's two chapters combined in one. It's over four thousand words, but it's mostly filler.**

**Have fun!**

**Luna: Don't own.**

**Rose: Really, she doesn't.**

**Ella: She doesn't even own the computer.**

**Luna: Thanks. Just so much Thanks. You don't know how good that makes me feel.**

**Rose: Oh, you're welcome! I don't own anything either!**

**Ella: No, duh, Rose, you're imaginary.**

**Luna: *brightens considerably* But Ella doesn't own anything! YES!**

**Ella: ...I'm so glad my misery causes you joy?**

**Luna: YAY! On with Commanding Lightning!**

"Code is 5, big T, little a, 3, 3, 9, big B, little W, 0."

Angel and Ben both nodded simultaneously, and Juju knocked him out.  
"Let's go."

* * *

"Nudge. Can you do this one for me?" Jon asked her.

Silently Nudge typed in the three passwords that would allow him to access Itex's secret files. Words filled the screen. Jon took out a camera and took a picture of every page, so they could read it later. Nudge was impressed. She watched him in silence for a while, patiently.  
But not that patiently.

"Are you almost done?" she whined ten minutes later.

"Still a while left to go. Look, kiddo, I trust you. Stay in this area, free the mutants, come back in..." he frowned at the screen. "Twenty minutes. If you're not here then I'm leaving without you."

"Seriously? Thanks so much!" Nudge told him, then ran off, her footsteps muffled by the carpet. She opened doors and looked for mutants or anything else interesting.

She found them behind the third door, more than a dozen of them. Three were dead. Nudge's eyes filled with tears as she looked at the cages. No humans, but animals were bad enough.  
Someone had tried to splice wings on a wolf. Now, they were splotched with red where it had worried at them with its teeth and hung limply by its sides. As Nudge approached it, it snarled at her.

In the cage next to it was what Nudge guessed was a dragon. It was a snake, with over-sized bat wings and lizard legs. Something had obviously gone wrong, because it was dead.

She couldn't stand it anymore. One by one, she opened the cages, letting out the animals. Even the wolf didn't try to bite her once it was free. As she opened the last cage, where there was a scaled cat, she heard a voice behind her. "Freeze."

Nudge froze, then turned around, her hands up.  
It was a whitecoat, and he was holding a gun.

Nudge glanced behind him for anything she could do. But there wasn't anything metal behind him that she could move. She was helpless.

Suddenly, there was a shot. Nudge squeezed her eyes closed. This was it; she was dead.

But the bullet never hit her. She opened her eyes. The whitecoat lay dead on the ground. Peter stood in the doorway, holding a gun.

"That was stupid," he told her.

Nudge blushed, glad it wouldn't show with her dark skin. Of course it had been stupid. She should have checked the room. But she'd wanted to free the mutants.

Suddenly Peter yelled, "Behind you!"

Nudge threw herself to the ground and rolled behind a cage, then came up, ready to fight. She heard Peter screaming with mirth from the doorway.

"You're just priceless. Priceless!" Tears were streaming from his eyes. "They shouldn't let kids like you into this thing. Really, you're useless. You and your family of mutants-no wonder you have a soft spot for these. Well, they do look better than the emo kid. If they're all as hopeless as you, I'm surprised more of you didn't kick the bucket like Max-"

Nudge had had enough. Screaming with rage, she launched herself at Peter, hitting every inch of him she could reach.

"You-jerk-don't-ever-insult-Max-again-or-I'll-kill-you!" She yelled, punching him _hard _with every word.

He stared at her in total shock, his nose bleeding, some of his ribs cracked. "You're crazy!" he gasped, and sprinted in the other direction. Nudge shouted after him, "Take that, you son of a-"

Jon came running up to her. "What the _heck_ is going on?"

Nudge looked down. "He insulted Max," she said defiantly.

He took a deep breath, then got a pick-you-battles look on his face. "I'll chew you out later. C'mon, let's get these to safety."

* * *

The door slid open under my touch. I steeled myself for what lay inside, then walked in.

Ella was lying on the bed, a bandage around her arm. "Di!"

I rushed forwards, then stopped awkwardly at the edge of the hospital bed. Ella would find it weird it I hugged her. "Where's Gira?"

Ella swallowed. "Other room."

"Juju, how long do we have?" I asked her over my shoulder as I walked over there.

"An hour until the bombs go."

I nodded to her, then opened that door.

Gira was sitting up on a chair, seemingly perfectly fine. Of course, life is rarely that easy. "Are you Gira?" I whispered. You never know who's been replaced by a clone.

She nodded.

"Favorite color, DOB, ID number and crush."

"Dark blue, January third, 26567 and..."

"Answer the question." I told her.

"Mart," she mumbled.

I snickered. "You know, you didn't have to tell me that, I just wanted you to admit it." I showed her the tape recorder in my pocked. "I now have suitable blackmail material!" I yelled.

"Give that to me, NOW!" Gira screeched, and started chasing me. I tossed it to Juju and then freed Ella in the room next door.

"Ha, no, blackmail!" I tossed it to her, but she didn't realize I'd pocketed the tape. "You ever gonna tell the poor boy? He's practically dying!" I mock scolded her, but she could hear the seriousness in my voice.

She opened her mouth to reply, but then Jon called in on the commlink.

"Di, we're going to have to separate Nudge and Peter…" Jon trailed off.

"What did he do this time?" I asked wearily.

"Insulted Max. Then Nudge nearly took his head off. She was about ready to commit homicide when I separated them.

"We'll deal with that later. Let's get going." I dropped a few of our explosives around the room and then we bolted. I blocked the hallways with energy barriers.

We met up back by our planes. I performed roll call right after the building exploded.

"Report." I said calmly.

"Here, minor injuries." Mart called.

"Fine. No damage." Jon added.

"Parked. Mildly scraped up."

"Blood loss, possible DNA transfusion, trauma." Gira commented quietly. Mart was kneeling next to her, helping her.

"I'm fine." Dag was helping Ella.

"Broken arm." For some reason, Angel was sitting on Nudge, even as she nursed her arm.

"Mild burns. One of my explosives reacted early." Gazzy came over and helped Angel restrain Nudge.

"I'm fine, but Peter won't be when I'm done with him." Nudge growled. Oh, so that was why Angel and Gazzy were sitting on her.

"Still blind. I can deal with everything else."

"I'm the same as Gira." Ella was being checked out by Dag, so I didn't worry.

"Brogen nose, cragged ribs, split libs, bruises. I want dat girl logged ub," Peter snarled through his 'brogen' nose. "She'll kill us all inw our sleeb."

"Only because he insulted MAX!" Nudge roared and threw Gazzy off of her. Then she gently shook Angel off-scared of hurting her arm more, I guess. After patting Angel on the head, she snarled and leapt into attack. Poor Peter never had a chance. I had to put her in an energy bubble and Peter in another one.

"Okay, back to the report, Ben, Mal, what's your status?"

"Tortured for three months, still haven't found Omicron and Theta. Ben's got a sprained wrist, even though she won't admit it, been bleeding on and off for the past two months, electric burns on our feet, miscellaneous bruises and cuts, mental health is fine." Mal said curtly. She knew that she had better tell me everything and fast. "Also…I broke a rib, and it healed wrong. They wouldn't let me set it. And Ben's ankle broke funny. They were testing the strength of her bones. Same with mine." Iggy knelt next to Mal and helped her while I tended to Ben.

"I swear, Ben, if you fight this, you will regret it. They've got plenty of work for you in Ocean." I hissed when Ben struggled. She sat still, eyes wide. She knew I was dead serious.

"Jon, meet Ben. Ben, Jon." Ben was a pretty little eight-year-old girl. She had long, dark, almost-black brown hair and caramel brown eyes that darkened or lightened depending on her mood. Mal had lighter brown hair, like almost blonde, but it had a reddish tint to it, and bright green eyes. Mal was eleven, but she acted older. Much older. Being locked up in a torturous scientific research location did that to you.

"This is Ben?" Jon asked, surprised. He must have been expecting a boy.

"Yeah. Benevolence Rose. That's my sis, Malevolence Rose." Ben showed him a pendant as she spoke. It showed a white rose intertwined with a red rose, a blue rose and a black rose. Then Ben turned around and asked me, "Did they ever find Omi or Thei?" I had to look away.

"No. They tried...they just haven't been able to find them." My voice was soft, but the news made tears roll down Ben's face.

"I hope they're not dead too, sweetie, but we can't change it. Now wipe those tears. You've gotta help with the people we found. But I'll look into the future to see." Some of the mutants looked surprised. I had called them people, not experiments. They were even more surprised when a glowing portal opened. "I'll be back in about ten minutes." I stepped in, holding Ben's hand.

We were greeted with a hallway of doors. Each of them was different, labeled with a name and such. This hallway stretched as far as we could see in every direction.

"Di, what's all of this?"

"Each of these doors is a choice. But we don't want one of these, we want to go into that door, there." I pointed to a blue one. It was labeled Alive, and the current date. I stepped in and saw a large screen. I spoke.

"Omicron, Theta." The screen, which looked like a hologram thing from some sci-fi movie, began to whirl.

"Omicron and Theta are alive. Thank you for coming. Is there anyone else you need to know about?"

"I think we're good." I ushered Ben out of the room and pushed her out of the portal. "I gotta find some stuff. You can't get back in. I'll be back soon."

I ran down the hall until I found the door with my name on it. It was the most convoluted room we had. There were so many futures for me. It was because I had to make so many choices about other people's futures. I pulled my favorite one out. It was me, sitting on a front porch swing, waiting for a school bus to pull up.

_"Mommy, Mommy!" A little girl with curly brown hair ran off the bus and hugged me tight._

_"Hey, sweetie. How was kindergarten?"_

_"It was great, Mommy! I painted a picture!" She held up a picture, clearly done by a small child, made of bright, clashing colors, but you could clearly tell what it was of. It was a family, in front of a house. "See, there's Auntie Molly, and Uncle Dag, and Auntie Juju!" She pointed to three of the figures. "And there's you, Mommy, and me!" The last two figures. There wasn't a Daddy in the picture. No matter what future I pulled up with this little girl, there never was._

_**It's because knowing will lead you to chaos. You'd freak out at knowing who you'd end up with, and even if you didn't feel like that towards them, you'd feel obligated to be with them to get this girl.**_

I pulled out of the vision, and tucked it into its slot. I searched through the futures for the flock, seeing how they'd find out. But there were thousands of them-they would take longer than the five minutes I had left to go through them, and any one of them could happen. I'd have to come back.

I stepped out of the portal in time to see Juju contacting Base_,_ and three hours later, we had a transport team there helping us pack up. We had reps from Phoenix. They practically trampled us in the haste to get to Ben and the mutants.

Then those of us who didn't get kidnapped by Phoenix had to fly back to Base. We'd meet up with everyone else there. We still had our planes to get back. Those people were Mart, Jon, Tommy, Dag, Nudge, Iggy, Juju and I. Angel had to go back to back to base because of her arm, Ella, Gira, Ben and Mal were in the intensive care unit (despite massive protests. Ben started screaming until I threatened her with Ocean again) and Peter was having several Nudge-inflicted injuries tended to. I think his nose was going to have a scar for the rest of his life, though. Everyone else was being transported back in the supersonic jet.

So anyway, a plane needed two people to pilot. Since Gira and Ella's plane was teensy tiny smithereens on the ground somewhere, we only had four, and we had eight people. Perfect.

Juju and I took our plane, Mart paired off with Iggy, I stuck Nudge in with Jon 'cause I knew she wouldn't kill him, and then Tommy and Dag piloted the last plane. There. Not the normal pairs, except for Mart and Iggy, and Juju and me. But it would work. Hopefully…

We managed to get home with Mart having a breakdown only once. That was unpleasant. I won't go into details, but I will tell you that the area we landed in won't ever be the same…I think the dents in that boulder will testify to that…

Long story short, I was ready to throw Mart into the loony bin. And Ben, but that's beside the point.

* * *

"Okay, everyone who was on the mission, clean up and then day off." I called after my team's retreating backs. Dag cheered, and then met up with Molly. Yeah, he wasn't going to take his day off. He was going to help Molly. I don't know what he has against off-days, I just know he never takes them.

Weird kid. Shaking my head, I vaulted over a railing. I ducked through the vent system, and dropped into the center of the training court, landing in a crouch, and managed to dodge a blow.

"Voshay!" I yelled, and everyone knew it was me, not a clone, or anything. Unless you're me, you don't willingly drop into the center of the Blue Lightning training court. Continuing what I was doing, I raced through the hallways, moving faster than most people could track with their eyes. I stopped in my room briefly, and grabbed my iPod, setting it to shuffle. Then I took off again. I got around the base four times before someone stopped me.

"Di. Sit. You're going to wear yourself out." Oh. It was Molly. "How many laps have you done?"

"Four." I mumbled.

"FOUR?! FOUR LAPS AROUND BASE?! AT THAT PACE?! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF?!" Molly screeched. Base is huge. It's about the size of five or six football fields. It's shaped like one of those * things, six points. Each point is the size of a football field, and I had run along the edges. Let's just say it's a LONG run to go around once, much less four times. And with the speed I was going at, it would have killed most people.

"I don't know what's wrong with you, Di, but that's just not healthy." Dag started scolding me. I shrugged.

"You're just noticing now? I do this every morning. I normally do about six laps, seven when the nightmares were bad, then manage to beat everyone up on the training court, do inspections, training, and run missions. This is the way I keep the pain away."

"By inflicting it upon yourself? This isn't healthy for you! You just got back from a mission. You're supposed to be relaxing!" I pushed Molly out of the way and raced off, slamming into my routine. I pushed myself harder and farther, running, faster, faster, faster! I whipped past Molly, and she had a stunned look on her face. I had kicked my superspeed in, and gone around the whole building in less than a minute. Juju just watched, and eventually, when I slowed to an unmodified human pace, she ran with me.

"Molly's right. You gotta stop running."

"When the only option is to run, you run. When the only option is to bleed, you bleed. When the only option is to fight, you either fight or run like heck. I choose to run like heck. I'll have to fight eventually, but until then-" slowed in the training court and delivered a swift, decapitating roundhouse kick to a training dummy, then picked up my pace again, Juju fighting to keep up "-I'm going to run. There was a large, glass window in front of me. I glanced at Juju and she grinned back. I shattered the window with an energy pulse, and the two of us leapt out.

Yeah, an energy pulse. Weird skill I developed. Turns out that's what saved my life when I jumped off a cliff-I subconsciously made a platform out of thin air that slowed down my fall. That's the first thing I learned, but I can do more things with it, too. No, I can shoot off pulses that break objects. They're better than bullets, but it's tiring to do. I can make shields, but for some reason they're not bulletproof. It's pretty good at stopping energy, and they can be self-maintaining, it just drains me.

Just so you know, this base wasn't in Antarctica. It was on an island near the southern tip of South America. This particular window was over a cliff. I somersaulted neatly, and I heard gasps from behind me. Juju unfurled her wings, but I made an energy path that I ran on. Someone shouted, and I heard someone streaking after me and Juju. A quick glance showed me it was Gazzy and Nudge. Well, they weren't catching me. I ran faster, and then leapt off the end of my energy bridge. Juju shouted and dove after me. I let myself fall until I was just above the water, then I blasted an energy path open. Laughing, I ran along the water. Juju, Gazzy and Nudge just gave up on trying to stop me and played along.

When we returned, about two hours later, our cheeks were flushed, but I saw Juju's eyes sparkling from our games. I was the only one who didn't fly, but my energy paths solved that.

Gira and Ben had blackmailed the infirmary to let them out, so when we returned, I was tackled by Gira who wanted us to do Karaoke night. I turned and ran right back out the window. I hate karaoke, and I can't sing. Even though Juju insists I can, I broke a mirror once.

I am pretty good with a guitar, though. I've written a few songs, and they're mostly soft, quiet acoustic songs. Unfortunately, Juju always catches me, and she always makes me do karaoke night. Normally, I sing something quick, and then vanish. Now, I didn't want to sing because I'd sung Angel to sleep. The Flock thought I didn't know that they would sit at the door and listen, but I knew. I always knew.

"Just sing one song. Maybe Stand In The Rain or Anthem. Please?" Yeah, I'm a Superchic[k] fan. Deal. They've got awesome songs.

"If you can get Nudge to do One Girl Revolution, I'll do Anthem and one of my songs." Nudge had hated Superchic[k]. She'd never sing One Girl Revolution without a) mind control or b) serious blackmail. Therefore, I was safe. Unless Ben started that boys vs girls sing off thing again. Then they'd make me do Anthem again, and I'd lose it for us. I still can't believe Mart and Dag can sing. You wouldn't think it, but they're both pretty good.

Juju didn't know about Nudge disliking Superchick[k], so she turned to Nudge and started rambling about singing. Nudge's eyes narrowed, and six seconds later, an unearthly, deafening shriek echoed through base.

"NO WAY IN HEAVEN OR HELL WILL I EVER SING A SUPERCHIC[K] SONG!" Angel slipped over and I whispered what was going on into her ear. Angel got this evil grin on her face, and whispered to Ben, who got an equally evil smirk. Uh-oh…

"Would you do it if I threatened to tell everyone about your little secret? The videos I've compiled over the years? Those videos that Max made? Your drawings? YOUR DIARY read over the intercom? You don't sing, all of these things happen."

Nudge turned very pale. "You wouldn't."

"I would. Now, are you going to sing or not?"

"I'll sing…" she mumbled. "But please, can I choose the song?"

"Um, no. You have to sing One Girl Revolution." Juju swiped my iPod…which I was kinda listening all throughout this…and switched it to One Girl Revolution. She tossed it to Nudge who listened to it.

"Oh, that's not so bad. What's Di doing?" Gira smirked.

"She's singing Anthem, which is also by Superchic[k]. And one of the ones she wrote…she doesn't really like performing, but she's good. Like, if she hadn't been commander of Lightning, she could've gone professional."

I scowled. "I am NOT that good. I keep breaking stuff."

Juju winced. "The mirror again?"

"And the lamp, too. And yeah, the mirror." Juju winced again.

"Anthem doesn't go that high."

"I told you, it's not the notes sung, it's the voice singing it."

"And your voice is good. I still don't get why you don't go professional."

"Four reasons why not. One, I can't sing. Two, how long do you think it would be before I decapitated fans? Three, I couldn't stand the publicity. Four, don't you think it would make it easier for _them_ to find me?"

Juju just grinned wickedly. "And they haven't found you already?"

"I swear, if you've told them, I will decapitate _you_." Something in my tone must have convinced Juju I was serious because her eyes got really big and she started backing away slowly. Then she turned tail and ran. Everyone started laughing as I took off after her. It was my way of unwinding-threatening my sister. This was fun.

**The pace starts picking up again later, but right now, Di and everyone just has to have some fun.**


	11. Why? Placements! Karaoke!

**Again, I'm so sorry for not updating sooner!**

**But the thing is, I'm getting train-tracks, and contacts too, so I've been at various doctors, plus I had to re-arrange my bedroom because I'm now sharing it with Mari, so that means I had to move furniture, re-hang posters, and argue over this vintage Mickey Mouse poster that I framed and had hanging on my door, but she doesn't want...so yeah.**

**Plus, Etta's moving, and she's cross country. That means she's got no internet until NEXT Sunday, which means she can't proof the updates...So yeah, welcome to our crazy and hectic life.**

**Oh, and my friend Andi is back from Canada. So she's guesting here...**

**Luna: Don't ask, because I don't own.**

**Ella: Yayness!**

**Andi: MY WORD!!!**

**Luna: It's my word.**

**Rose: Believe the Lunatic, unless you WANT to lose a finger...**

**Ella: Or a leg.**

**Rose: Or an arm.**

**Ella: Or your head...**

**Luna: I'm not that dangerous!!**

**Andi: Says the girl who knocked out her best friend when she snuck up behind her to give her a hug!**

**Luna: In my defense, it was eleven at night, dark out, and I didn't know it was you. You could have been that stalker-rapist person in the next neighborhood over!**

**Andi: *smacks forehead* Missing the point there, Lunie!**

**Ella: Sure, Ani.**

**Rose: Blah. On with this desperate tale!**

**Luna: Oh, and Ettie's requesting more reviews...something about "You subscribe, favorite, or just plain read, you comment. Otherwise, I cut off my BETA and co-author and motivational techniques".**

**Andi: In English, she said, "Review, or else the story hits the trash."**

**Ella: Harsh!**

**Luna: You know it, Ellie-pop.**

**Rose: Ellie-pop...good one.**

**Luna: You too, Rosie-poo.**

**Rose: *Turns red***

**Andi: *snickers***

* * *

"Di, we need to talk." Fang grabbed my arm and dragged me off to the side as I chased Juju. "Why didn't I go with the rest of my _family_ on that mission?"

"I don't have to share that information." I turned and started to pull away. He stopped me.

"Yes, you do. When it involves my Flock, I have to know." Wow. His Flock. Not Max's Flock, or The Flock, but _his_ Flock.

"Fine. I took them because I needed to know where they were going to be placed. You, I was sure of. Them, not so much. The trip told me exactly what I needed to know. And stop feeling betrayed. Get used to the Flock being split up. It's going to happen a lot in the future." I tried to leave again. Wow, that boy is strong.

"What?" he demanded.

I sighed. "Look, I know your skill set. You aced the field-work and comprehensive tests. The best of the best go into Blue. But the others scored higher in other areas, but they could have gone into any department. I had to find out where they had to go. I didn't know their skills, so I needed to test them more intensively than you." Glaring up at him-Fang was a good six inches taller then me-Had he grown?-I added, "And I succeeded. I determined where everyone's going. Seeing as you're the leader of them, you need to know. But you'll find out when they do. I'm calling a meeting before the-" Here I rolled my eyes "karaoke night."

"So…placements?"

"Yeah. Blue, Red, Green, and Ocean. Don't worry. Your fam aren't the only ones getting re-assigned. I'm quite mad at Katrina…she sent me way too many Reds and Greens. I handle BLUES best." I shook my head. "Go tell your family what's happening. The meeting's in twenty minutes." I pulled free and left quietly, leaving a silent, shocked Fang standing in the center of the room.

* * *

"Okay, I assume none of you know why you're here!" I sang cheerfully. Head shakes and replies of "no" echoed through the room, so I continued.

"You're here for re-assignments, ladies and gents. We've brought you here because you're not where you should be. So, to start off, the people from Blue Lightning… Ella Martinez, Fang Nicholson, Iggy Rise, Nudge Fleet, Gazzy Rise, Angel Rise, Peter Brown. People from Red Lightning…Sally Hemmerford and Patricio Torres. People from Green Lightning…none. Okay, that's interesting. Normally we have about three Greens…" I mused. Juju coughed slightly, and I snapped back to attention. "And finally, we have Benevolence and Malevolence Zeta-Rho, ex-members who were captured and thusly need to be reassigned.

"Okay, well, re-assignments. The Blues will be Fang Nicholson and Sally Hemmerford. The new Greens…Angel Rise, Patricio Torres and Ben Zeta-Rho. The new Reds will be Mal Zeta-Rho, Iggy Rise and Gazzy Rise. Nudge Fleet is a special 'special case'. She's getting transferred from Lightning to Ocean along with Peter Brown…Oh, crud, that may not work out…we're transferring Peter because of Nudge…scratch that, Peter, you're going to go with Ella. Ella Martinez is being transferred from Blue Lightning to Phoenix. We're going to miss all of you who change and I'll need to see Ella, Peter and Nudge for a while."

Everyone else scattered, and I sat down at a small table with the three I had requested to speak with.

"Look, guys, what's happening is unheard of. We've never transferred anyone out of Branch, not in any of the Branches of Xeti. We've done inter-branch transition, just not into-Branch transition. Peter, Ella, you're going into the medical groups. Because this is strange, you'll work with Lightning a lot, as our med team. You'll lead a group to work here at Base Lightning, but for the next two months, you two will be at Base Phoenix. If you have any complaints about your new assignments, you don't take it up with me. You listen to Ice. She's your new boss.

"Now, Nudge. You've been reassigned to Ocean because of your talent with computers. If you're not comfortable there without anyone you know, you can transfer back, but it will take a long while. There is an open slot on Green Lightning, but we'd prefer that you worked in Ocean, because that's your skill set. You're much better with computers and technology than you are at planning defensive strategies and interrogation.

"So…any questions, you three?" I finished. Nudge tentatively raised a hand.

"Yeah, um, Di, why am I going by myself?"

"You're going by yourself because you're the only one with the skill set needed for Ocean. The only reason you were in Lightning in the first place was because your guardian, Fang, requested it. But you seemed kinda miserable on the mission, so we thought you'd be happier in a place with other people with your skills. I'm talking to Katrina about starting up a combined group, with reps from every group so we can blend skills." I pulled her into a hug. "But if you're uncomfortable with it, we'll let you stay."

Nudge shook her head. "Ocean seems to be the most normal group of people. I want to be normal, if only for a while." Wow, she's speaking in short sentences. She must have changed more than I thought.

"Good. Any more questions?" No one replied. "I'm going to inform Katrina that everyone accepted it and let everything run its course. I'm also going to need to speak with Fang. He wasn't so happy about breaking up his family." I sighed and pushed back my chair. "Good-bye and good luck to all of you. The jet will take you to your new Bases and homes. Pack up-don't leave anything behind. You won't be returning." I smiled and nodded good bye.

It only took a few minutes and a closed door for me to burst out in tears. Of course, no one ever saw-to them I was the incredible, indestructible Di, the fearless leader, the strong leader. But I was losing my family all over again, and this time, I had to encourage them to go. Just great.

Karaoke night went fine until I had to perform. Nudge did One Girl Revolution excellently, and Angel sang a very nice version of When You Wish Upon A Star. Mart and Gira sang Lucky together and Gazzy somehow got convinced to sing No Reins, followed by Dag and Celebrate You. Some of the Greens and Reds sang…no clue why…this is a Blue event, but okay…and then Molly and I sang one of my songs together, a duet, and then it was my turn. The song choice had been changed, and now I was doing Fences, Paramore. Blah.

Halfway through the song, I couldn't take it, and raced off. They hadn't fixed the window, so I leapt out and ran. Not on air, but on energy paths. I ran as far as I could before my tired legs gave out beneath me, and I crumpled to the ground, a good thousand feet below me.

.

..

…

..

.

Ha, you actually fell for that? No, I climbed up high in the clouds, and sat on an energy platform.

* * *

Angel watched with sad eyes as Di raced out from the karaoke night. Something had triggered a memory in Di's mind. She had caught a snatch of thought-of Di's thoughts, as if the barrier blocking Di's mind had melted for a second.

_ I'm so lost. I need to tell them that I'm-_

And then it had been gone. She had realized Angel was listening, and slammed her barriers back up. Angel followed Di to the broken window. She gasped as Di leapt out and started running-on nothing but transparent sheets of blue. Angel unfurled her wings and took off after her new sister.

She could only hope she'd catch her.


	12. LightningStrikes, RANSOM?

Hehe, sorry? Etta finally got internet back. Therefore, we could edit and prepare to update!

Now that we both have reliable internet connections, hopefully, the updates will be much faster...I'm sorry about the wait.

Luna: *see above note*

Rose: *smiles big and innocently while aiming a jello catapault at non-reviewers*

Ella: That was a threat. You review, you avoid being hit by the explosive jello. You review, Luna can spend more time writing as opposed to making explosive fruity gelatin.

Andi: I still don't get how she does it.

Luna: And you never will. *big boom from the backyard is heard* Because I got the recipie from Gazzy, who, by the sounds of it, just blew up the backyard with my bro, Luke, AGAIN, and then I erased his memory...so he doesn't remember giving me the recipe for explosive jello. *smiles big*

Andi: I guess read and review, then!

**

* * *

**

_She could only hope she'd catch her._

* * *

I sat on my energy platform, high in the clouds. A thunderstorm was forming. Perfect. I created a globe of blue energy, my fake lightning. It glowed, and cracked, racing through me, electrifying me. A real lightning strike touched my outstretched hand, and I felt the liquid electricity coursing through my veins. My hair stood on end, and if I had been normal, the intensity of the lightning would have killed me, but I wasn't normal. I was me.

With the lightning, I wasn't Diane Mumixam, one of the leaders of Xeti. I wasn't Di, the girl everyone depended on when everything took a turn for the worse. I wasn't Maximum Ride, the savior of the world. I wasn't Max, flock leader. I wasn't anyone. I was just…me, me without a name, without a physical being. It was just me and the lightning, and it felt…right, I guess, like it should be.

Did anyone ever wonder why Lightning was called that? Lightning? No? Well, it was because of my powers. Lightning and energy was attracted to me, until I learned to control it. Random strikes would attack me and anyone near. It was hard, the first month I had my power. I wouldn't let anyone near me. This was before Lightning was totally founded. We were just called Branch One.

Then we were attacked. I got mad. I summoned lightning and attacked with energy. I killed dozens of NEs and NTs. I'm not proud of it, but everyone was so in awe of my power, they named Lightning after that, saying it was because we would strike our enemies down with bolts of lightning.

But they never knew the full story when they named it that. It was named in honor for Lisa, Mart and others too. Before I could control my power, I would accidentally hurt people. I killed Lisa, one of my friends; James, an Ocean officer; a med, Lauren; a Tsunami worker, Freddie; and I struck Mart with lightning. Lightning's named for them. For the people we lost.

Most people don't know that.

But you do.

Remembering all of this caused me to cry, so when Angel flew up and found me, she must have seen quite a sight.

Me sitting on a transparent, thin blue sheet of energy, crying, with lightning covering me, hair standing on end, but my eyes glowing a fierce, intensive blue with gold sparks dancing through them, but tears falling down my cheeks as I sobbed.

It must have looked very, very scary and dangerous. But probably comic. I don't know, never seen myself with lightning. It's just what Juju's told me.

Acknowledging Angel, I released some of the energy, but contained most of it in a globe that I kept in my hand.

"Hey, Ange. Wanna sit?" I patted the energy platform. Cautiously, Angel knelt next to me. I grinned, tipping my head to the sky.

"It's beautiful, in the midst of a storm." I whispered, knowing she'd hear me. "It's like the sky is crying for something, but when lightning strikes, it's like a reminder not to be sad." I tossed the globe of energy away from me and Angel, and we watched as it exploded spectacularly. Think of a plasma globe, and then imagine that with lightning, only much brighter and much more powerful.

Angel gasped. "Wow…it's so beautiful…"

"Yeah. No one knows what I do when I vanish. I never tell anyone, but I trust you. I come up here, sit on my energy platform, and talk to the lightning." A bolt came down and touched my outstretched hand. "It always listens," I murmured, hypnotized by the dancing light. "It always understands. It never asks questions." It drew back. I smiled at Angel. "I'm scaring you pretty bad right now, aren't I?" Angel hesitated, then shook her head no.

"You're sweet. Most people would freak knowing that I play with lightning." I took a small bolt and pressed it into her hand. She jumped at the small bit of electricity. I laughed. "Don't worry. It won't hurt you unless I want it to. And I'm protecting you, so a bolt that strikes me could strike you, and you'd be fine." Ever so slowly, Angel grasped the lightning. I let go of it completely, and it stayed in her hand. I stood and stretched, then created a set of stairs back down to Base. Hand in hand with Angel, energy sparking freely, we descended and returned to Earth, a much less electrifying place.

* * *

When we returned, electricity still crackled in my hair. After a few stares, I raked my fingers through my coal-black locks, gathering the sparks. I pulled it into a small sphere and dropped that in a glass jar. Yeah, I carry one with me. Like, a small, baby-food sized one.

"That will come in handy later. Hey, Ange, why don't you get some sleep? I'm a bit of an insomniac, so I don't need as much. I gotta go over the defense plans with Green Lightning…" I trailed off and Angel smiled. After a quick hug, she darted off for bed, Juju and Ben in tow.

Yeah, for some reason, Juju's and my dorm room-ish thing (we call them barracks) had been turned into a central gathering place. See, it was intended for about eight people, but since Juju and I were the heads, we only shared it with two other people. Molly and Gira. So there was the four of us. Then we got trainees. So Angel, Nudge and Ella moved in. That was bad enough. I had to really control my nightmares and stuff. No crying, no screaming, no breakdowns, nothing. I couldn't tip them off. After we went and rescued Ben and Mal, they decided to move in with us too, simply because if they weren't, one of them would be up at all hours, and since Ben couldn't do that, Mal wouldn't ever sleep.

So now, there were nine people in a room that used to only hold four…you can see why I was grumpy.

I was claustrophobic, too. Wasn't helping. Not at all.

Anyway, I turned and went to my office. Yeah, I have an office. Rarely use it, though. Kinda cramped…

I found mission reports from everyone, and new info from Green and Red. I sighed and started to go through them.

Or I WAS until SOMEONE broke down my door. It was OPEN. Clearly, I'm not in a good mood.

Well, the fact I was in serious need of sleep could have contributed to my snappiness.

But I think it was the bad mood.

"Molly, what is it?"

"Ask Katrina. She's the one who sent the message." Molly tossed a vid-link to me. Basically, it was a flat blue panel with a small keypad and three small screens to see people. Katrina was on one.

"What happened, Tri-tri?" I asked tiredly.

"Well, we've got good news and bad news. Good news, Itex has formed a truce. Bad news? They want you, Jay and the flock. Three guesses as to who made the demand."

"Vaulder."

"Bingo. So, you gonna comply, or are you going to fight back?" I pushed a hand through my hair, and sighed. I shook my head while I thought. A few minutes later, I was able to reply.

"I can't make this decision. I will surrender myself, but I can't give up six people we have under our care. They trust us. Forcing them to do this is wrong. If they so choose, they can surrender with me. If not, then…well, then we'll fight." Katrina nodded and looked at Molly.

"Molly, are you alright with this? With Di gone, you become acting commander until Di returns."

"Hell no. I am NOT letting my best friend give herself up to death. Hell no. Hell no."

"That wasn't the question. We didn't ask if you'd let your friend give herself up. We asked if you, as a second-in-command, could take care of the whole of Lightning for as long as it takes? Are you capable of commanding Lightning for a week or two by yourself?"

Molly took a breath. "Yes. But I still don't like it."

I hugged her quickly. "You don't have to, Molls. Just keep breathin', that's all you gotta do." I pushed the vid-link back into her hand, then went to find Jay and the Flock.

* * *

I gathered the four remaining members of the flock and Jay Vaulder. There were various murmurs of confusion, but I ignored them and sat at the head of the table with my laptop.

"Guys, this may come as a shock to you, but we're under direct threat." I typed several codes into the laptop as I spoke. To any hidden cameras, it would look as if I was ignoring everyone.

"What? Di, we're always under threat. We're kinda Lightning. If we weren't under threat, I'd be pretty worried." Jay laughed.

"Not like this." I replied, and started the video Vaulder had sent us.

"Hello, Katrina ter Borcht, Analisse ter Borcht, Marianna Janessen, Diane Mumixam, Jayson. I know you'll be showing this to others whose names I probably do not know, so, hello to you all as well.

"Now, I'm sure you're confused about why I'm sending you this. Well, the answer to that is very clear. I know someone very important to you isn't who she says she is. I know who. Initals of who she was, MR. That should be enough to convince you, hm, Di?

"I am prepared to tell the whole world that I know this. They'll be very disappointed in her, that she abandoned them at such a desperate time. To keep me from doing this, you'll need to send me Diane Mumixam, and the remainder of the famous flock, as well as Jayson. I do miss my son terribly. You'll have to send them, unarmed, to London's Heathrow Airport. I promise they will not be killed. We only wish to speak with them. In return for this, I will not tell the world that MR is still alive." My stomach went cold. There was no way he possibly could have- "I will also leave your precious XETI alone forever. But I must have them.

"I am giving you one week to comply with my request. Jayson, could you possibly bother to give your mother a phone call? Jenna and Joyce miss you!"

First thing we did? Laugh at Jayson's mortified expression.

"JENNA? As in my psychotic sister? With the BUNNY RABBIT DNA?" Jayson looked like he was either going to faint from shock or pass out laughing. "And JOYCE? Ha, no. No way am I calling her."

I glanced at his beet-red cheeks. "Wasn't that the girl you had a crush on?"

"NO." He seemed embarrassed, and everyone burst out laughing again.

"Okay, now that our giggles are out, what say you about surrendering?"

A quick glance at me later, and Jay was in. The flock was debating. I pulled up Nudge on the webcam and slid it down the table to them. Now they had the almost entire flock there.

Angel looked up at me. "Di, they said someone important used to be MR. What did they mean by that?"

I sighed. "Your guess is as good as mine. We've got plenty of MRs here…Margaret Rodgers, Madison Ramirez, Morgan Raines, Myrtle Rothschild, Mackenzie Rotondi, Mitchell Rudden, the OTHER Morgan Rudie, and yes, the second Morgan is a boy, the first is a girl, Matthew Raines, and then there's Malevolence Zeta-Rho who uses the initials MR." I frowned, noticing the flock jumping to conclusions and decided to buy off the grave diggers.

"I guess he could be trying to say that the infamous Maximum Ride is still alive, but that's just crazy... Though it would explain why he asked the Flock to come..."

My eyes widened, and I yanked out my vid-link. I slammed through the contact list and selected Katrina.

"Tritri. Vaulder thinks that Max is alive."

* * *

Luna: *smiles big* And now, I'm going to be in NY for the next week, so...BYE!!!

Rose: Luna, don't tease the people.

Luna: ...I'm not. Granddad is selling his house. We might not go, though...


	13. The Undetectables, GALEVOLENCE!

**A/N YES! I made the deadline for once! So, keep in mind, this was written in the time period of two in the afternoon to about six or seven at night, in a vehicle moving at about seventy miles per hour, while my older sister snored, my mother was using ASL while reading her book (she has weird habits like that), my dad was driving, and my brother was watching National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets on the portable DVD player in the van, plus I was trying to eat my lunch and lick a butterscotch candy stick at the same time while typing and watching the movie with my brother. I really like watching National Treasure 2. A lot, so it was kinda a big thing to FINALLY have it on DVD. Playfair ciphers…I love them!**

**Luna: Ah, FINALLY!! Trust me, I am NEVER going on another road trip with Luke. NOT HAPPENING.**

**Rose: I'm never going on another road trip with your family either.**

**Luna: ...Rose, you stowed away in the trunk of our car.**

**Rose: Hello, I'm imaginary for the next week. Then real Rose returns. You needed company. But still you know I had to do it.**

_"Tritri, Vaulder thinks that Max is alive."_

"Di? That's impossible. Totally and completely impossible. You know as well as I do that Max isn't alive, and I'm sure everyone else knows as well. Max is dead."

"It doesn't matter if she's dead or not. If Vaulder could make a clone, then he could convince the world that we lied when we sent out that statement that said Maximum died, he could make us out to be liars…OR…wait, Katrina, what happened to Max II?"

"Max II? Cas?" She called over her shoulder. "Cas, I need all the files we have on Max II and any Max clones that may exist. Even rumors. We need them. Yesterday." Cas apparently rushed out, judging by the running footsteps and the slammed door.

"Don't worry, Di. Cas is the best. If there's anything to be found, Cas will find it.

Cas'll have Nudge help. The two of them will find everything we have. But why Max II? What does she have to do with this?"

"Well, Max II almost convinced the Flock that she WAS Max. The real one. If she went to Itex, maybe they think she's the real Max and is helping them. She helped them before, so maybe she's helping them now."

"That might be it. Flock? You knew her. Do you think that it's Max II? Or do you think it's something else?"

Angel's eyes grew bigger. "It's something else, Di. I never told anyone else this…but when Max fell, her thoughts never stopped. They decreased, but they were never totally gone. I think she was still alive but she didn't want us to know."

I smiled sadly at Angel. "We know. But we also know she's dead."

"WHAT?" Several voices yelled.

"I've told you this before. The information is classified. Someday, if and when Marianna, Katrina and Analisse decide that you're trustworthy, you'll get the whole story. But not now. Not now."

Katrina decided to speak up. "I was with her when it happened. I was contacted when she was found. But there is one more option. Di, you know this one. You know this one well." I refused to believe it.

"No. No. No. He can't. He couldn't. Not even Molly and Dag know that. It's totally impossible. Completely impossible." I dismissed the idea.

"Maybe. But if there actually is a traitor, like you've told me, they could have figured it out." Katrina did have a point, but I had an argument ready.

"No one but the top members of Lightning have that kind of access to our secret files. No one else can get in." See?

"Mal hacked in." Tritri pointed out.

"Yeah, with eighteen PAGES of passwords from Molly, and even then it took her twelve hours to get the remaining blocks down. And an alarm was triggered. No one could hack our files. No one. I can't hack our files."

"He was talking directly to you, Di. He knows something you don't."

"Or so he wants us to believe. He could be guessing."

"Um…guys?" Jayson asked quietly. "GUYS!"

"Yes, Jay?" I replied wearily.

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"It's classified. Even if I explained it, you wouldn't understand. It's a long story, and so classified, nine people in the entire world know about it. Possibly ten, if Vaulder actually knows what we think he really shouldn't know anything about at all unless he has a master hacker with about seventeen thousand correct passwords to top secret files."

"Huh?" Ella managed intelligently.

"Nine people in the world, out of approximately six and a half billion people, know this secret. Me, Molly, Dag, Gira, Mart, Juju, Katrina, Analisse and Marianna. No one else knows. No one else CAN know. So if Vaulder knows, Lightning, Xeti, and almost everyone involved…well, their lives go down the toilet. I get tortured to death, my family gets murdered, and everyone who has even caught a glimpse of me dies. Dies. That's how serious this is."

Everyone shut up and grabbed their gear. I dragged us over to Red to get the Undetectable series weapons.

"Hey, Mal, we need a favor! We're going on a mission and we need the Undetectable series stuff for the mission." Mal grinned.

"Sure thing, Di." She turned to Gazzy. "Hey, Gaz! How's my favorite pyro?" She hugged him, and an already blushing Gazzy turned bright red.

"I-I-I'm f-f-ine." he stammered. Aw, looks like someone's got a crush!

"So, um, the Undetectables…Well, I can get them for you, but it'll take me a few hours. Ig, Gaz, Di, I'm gonna need help. If we can get Juju in on this, we'll have the best we can getcha."

"I'll go get Juju!" Gazzy exclaimed and raced off. We stared at him in shock.

"So, um, Mal, do you like Gazzy? As in like-like?" I asked softly.

She blushed and nodded. "He's so sweet, and I just adore him. I don't think he likes me back, though."

Iggy snorted. "Oh, he likes you all right. He read me a four page poem he wrote about just your _hair_. He stole one of your socks and has it hidden under his pillow. Gaz _cuddles _it when he's sleeping. He's got it bad." Ella started squealing. Gazzy returned then, Juju in tow.

"Okay, everyone who's good with weapons, stay. Everyone else, OUT." I called. Fang, Ella, Angel, Ben (who was with Juju and Gazzy), Jay, and Nudge, who had just gotten here from Ocean, left. Ella and Angel were filling Nudge in.

"Okay, let's get cracking!" Juju cried cheerfully. Mal and Ig showed us a bench full of normal stuff. I grabbed an iPod, a cell phone, one of the Razrs (is that how you spell it?), and a Nintendo DS. I sat at a workbench with Mal and started tinkering with them.

"So, Gaz…what's he like, outta the workshop?" she asked, adding chemicals to a pack of gum.

"Gazzy…well, he's mischievous, no doubt about that, and he loves to blow stuff up. He's a sweet kid, hates having his hair ruffled, and he's always working on some bomb or another." We both glanced over at Gazzy, who was working with a pair of tweezers, some gunpowder, a pair of safety goggles, and some earrings. I didn't bother asking.

"I know. But what's he like on the inside?"

"Well, he may have changed since I knew him, but he was like most eight year olds, except for his…occurrences, but when faced with a fight, well, he was as deadly as any of the older kids. But if you like him, be prepared for the older brother act from Iggy. They're close. Like you and Ben. How long?" Mal sighed.

"I guess since I met him on the mission. On the way back, we got sat together, and I fell asleep on his shoulder. I just like him, so much, and I know he likes me back, and I want to ask him on a date, but aren't boys supposed to ask?"

"Nah. Anyone can ask." I told her, working on a tazer in the iPod. Mal took a stick of gum out, walked over to Gazzy's table and asked him something. He took the gum over to a test site, where she stood next to him. He chewed it for bit and then threw the wad at the wall. Fifteen seconds later, it exploded.

Mal high-fived Gazzy, and then asked him something. I nudged Iggy, who was a table over, and Juju, who was doing…something, I'm not sure what, and they watched as Gazzy nodded. Then they hurried back to their respective workstations. I winked at her, and her blush became more pronounced.

"Aw…young love. How was it?" Mal sighed dreamily, which was weird because she was covered in soot and as red as a tomato with a sunburn, but her eyes practically had stars in them.

"He said yes!" A table over, Iggy was laughing at a furiously blushing Gazzy, and cracking jokes. I decided to work on this situation, and put Gazzy and Mal together.

"Hey, Gaz, why don't you and Mal work together? I've got some questions for Iggy on this chip…I'm not sure how to best activate the tazer and still be able to listen to music."

I switched with Gazzy, and Iggy helped me really quickly.

"You didn't need help, did you?" he asked.

I laughed in reply. "No, I just thought Gazzy and Mal would like to work together. After all, they're going on a date!" Iggy's eyes grew wide and he yelped.

"Gazzy is going on a date?" He sounded like Juju's dog before she died. I still felt sorry about it, but really, when the dog is thirteen years old, he's going to die soon (this was like, two years ago. We adopted Fiona, but then she died of old age).

"Shh….and yes. Mal asked him, and Gazzy agreed. You must have know Gazzy liked someone!"

"Yeah, I knew he liked her, but…wow! They've known each other, what, a week, tops?"

"Igs…it's been about three days. I remember reading on the blog that you asked Ella out after meeting her for only about a day-ish time frame." Then Iggy blushed. "And Gaz and Mal have a lot in common. They're good for each other. Kinda like Molly and Dag, although, admittedly, Molly and Dag still haven't figured it out." I tossed him the completed iPod.

"What did you do to it?"

"Installed a taser, a small comlink, and there's a memory stick that will hold about four hundred gigabytes of data. Plus, it also works like a normal iPod. Cool, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm working on the headphone wires so they'll work like a tape measure or a trip wire. So, Molly and Dag?" I laughed.

"Yup. Molls and Dag. They can't exist without each other."

"That seems a lot like Max and Fang were."

"Hm?"

"Well, Max and Fang were always obviously in love, but they wouldn't admit it. When the other was hurt, the other would be obsessing over them, and I know that when Max briefly dated a boy, four-ish years ago, Fang was ready to murder the boy. Max was just as jealous of Fang's short time girlfriend. And then when the Flock split, Fang was barely holding together. He hid it well, but I could tell. According to Nudge and Angel, Max was just as bad."

"Really? I never really thought about that. On the blog, Fang always said they were best friends."

"Do you only know about the blog?"

Again, I laughed. "No, I know a lot more than I can say. Our files on her are extensive. We don't know half as much about the rest of you, but we know quite a bit about Max." Iggy slid a chip into the DS, and turned it on.

"Hey, what did you do?" He showed me.

"X-Ray. Pretty useless for me, but there you go. If all goes well, we'll have a chip for X-ray, lie detector, laser, telephone, etcetera…" I high-fived him and looked over at Mal and Gazzy. They were laughing easily and working hard on stuff.

I put a small explosive in a watch, and modified a book to have lock picks come out of the spine of a book that would also launch tranquilizers.

I packed a bag for everyone coming. Mine held an iPod, a cell phone, a texing device, various things you'd find in a mom's purse, and my favorite item, the knockout blush. Blow a bit of it onto someone's nose, and they'd be unconscious within seconds. I would be posing as Rachel Williams, a thirty-six year old mom with three kids.

Nudge's was almost identical to mine, but she had a different cell phone, an iTouch instead of an iPod nano, and she had a book or two tucked into the larger purse. Nudge would be Sara Goode, my "son's" "girlfriend". It would be interesting to see Jay's reaction to that.

Angel got a backpack that a nine year old would use, filled with a DVD player with different DVDs that had miscellaneous functions, a pink DS with Iggy's game chips, a phone that a nine year old would have, and a few books that a girl her age would read. She would be Angelina Williams, my nine year old daughter.

Ella had a purse, very similar to Nudge's and mine. Of course the phones and things were different, but they were basically the same. She was going to be Sara's adopted sister, Eleanor Goode. She'd be a year older, sixteen to Sara's fifteen.

Then for the boys. I gave Fang a black laptop that had serious hacking capabilities, a phone, an iPod that matched mine, but was black instead of purple, chargers and things that were pretty strong, and would be useful as climbing wires and things like that. He also had notebooks with sharp edged paper and would be able to write coded letters with the automatic translator built into several of the pens. He'd be Sara and Ella's "adopted father", Joseph Goode. Both Sara and Ella would be adopted.

Iggy's bag was white, and he had an iPhone, a white laptop like Fang's, a wallet, a book with lock picks, lasers, etcetera, a re-enforced steel belt, and various things a businessman on a family vaccation would have. Apparently, Gazzy, Angel and Jay looked like a cross between Iggy and me, so he was my "husband", Jeffery Williams.

Gazzy was fun to pack for. He might have been only eleven, but he looked about fourteen, so I decided to play a bit of a joke on him. He got an iPod, like the rest of us, a phone, with hundreds of texts from "Mallory Myers", his "girlfriend". I got Mal to help. She would be his "girlfriend" and stuff and would text him and call him throughout the trip to keep up appearances. When I told Iggy, he cracked up. Also in Gazzy's bag was a DS with the game chips, a Gameboy, also with the chips, and a PSP. A book (Tom Saywer) would be like a school reading assignment that I, his "Mom" would attempt to get him to read on the trip. He'd be Samuel Williams, my fourteen year old son.

Jay was last. He'd be my "oldest", and for his sixteenth birthday, we, his "family" were taking him to London. His "girlfriend" and her family, our family friends, were coming with us. We'd all be flying for a trip. In his bag, I put a new looking DS and an older, battered gameboy. A small, new looking laptop, a book or two, and a folder that looked like homework stuff. A cell phone, an iPod, and a few other various things a teenager would have, including a "new" driver's license, issued to a Jason Williams.

Now, we had to do disguises, like makeup and stuff, and we'd be ready. Time for practice.

* * *

Three days later, we were in the lab, putting the finishing touches on some stuff when Gazzy made a breakthrough in a device he was working on. Mal got really excited and grabbed his face and kissed him in full view of everyone. And I mean EVERYONE.

A dazzled Gazzy collapsed, and a poor Mal smiled big and then knelt next to him before kissing him again.

Later, when I talked to her about it, she got this big dazzled look on her face.

"He's so perfect." I could practically see the stars in her eyes.

"So, how was your first kiss?"

She sighed. "So wonderful. He tasted like vanilla and gunpowder." I didn't even want to know how she knew what gunpowder tasted like, so I was just going to ignore that and not ask. I think this is the first time she's been truly happy since the whole trapped in Pretoria ordeal. I had a feeling it wouldn't last long.

* * *

**Okay, a bit of GAL (for those who don't get it... Gazzy...Mal...Gazzy...mAL...Gazzy....mALEVOLENCE. I was actually considering Bezzy, but I think Gal is better than Bezzy) for you. The action picks up next chapter...It's half written, but Etta started school two days ago. I'm starting school in a week and a half. Hopefully, we can update every three days.**

**Oh, and if you have time, please Read and Review Etta's story. Silenced Voices, under the user, shadowleaf264. She's a good writer, but she doesn't get so many reviews. No requirements, but it would be nice if you could...**

**Luna**


	14. Double? Oreo? Switch! Di? DI!

**AN: Okay, we're going to have fun on the plane. BTW, I'm sorry about the non-updateness, but let's just say life has been...hectic here (even though it usually is), more so than usual. My mom found out she has like, "Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever" or something of the sort, my dad's been trying to figure out a bug in the computer (believe me when I say your internet browser crashing for no apparent reason and then booting up randomly forty-five minutes later is BEYOND annoying), and school starts next tuesday. We haven't gone shopping for supplies or clothes or anything yet, and we're trying to do that. Add to that my BETA and good friend had to skip her school today and was out yesterday with a massive headache (she started before we do) and I've been to so many doctors in the past week (they're all pretty much in the same office) that they all know me by name. Yeah, it's that bad.**

**I also don't own this...and I don't own Oreo or Double, either..I wish I did...If you're confused, just read it. Ella and Rose aren't here so...**

**READ ON!**

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* * *

  
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Another four days later found us at Washington Dulles Airport, and I was acting like a worried mother.

"Angelina, did you remember your toothbrush?" I asked frantically.

"Yes, Mom, it's in my suitcase." Angel said, overly patient.

"Sammy, did you pack enough underwear?" Still frantic.

"Mom!" Gazzy whined, and then got text from "Mallory", which then absorbed all of his attention.

"Jason, where did you put your suitcase? We can't forget it!"

"Relax, Mom, Dad's got it. It's right there with everyone else's."

"Calm down, Rach, it's totally fine. Relax." Iggy laughed quietly at my franticness, and Fang was almost smiling as he, "Sara" and Ella walked up.

"Jay!!" Nudge squealed and tackled him in a massive hug and was about to kiss him when Fang and I dragged them apart, and gave them each lectures.

"No PDA, kids." I ordered. They both sheepishly grinned up at me.

"Jeff, do you have the tickets?" Iggy checked his pockets.

"No, I thought you had them…" He trailed off. I flew into panicked mode, loving every second of the acting.

"WHAT? YOU FORGOT THE TICKETS?!" I yelled. People were starting to stare, so Iggy clamped a hand over my mouth.

"No, I'm just kidding. Of course I have them. Along with the passports, all twelve of our suitcases, all of our carry-ons, and we're checked in. The bags are going on the plane now, and we're getting ready to board. Relax, Rach. We'll be fine. Breathe, Rach. Breathe."

I took big, deep breaths, and I saw a few poorly hidden smiles and smirks.

"Sorry. Commercial planes give me the freaks." I apologized to everyone in the area. "I'm just a bit claustrophobic." Everyone in our group knew it was an act, but to everyone around us, it looked totally honest.

"Does anyone need to use the restroom? Ella, Sara, Angelina? Let's all go now. Jeffy, take the boys." "Jeffy" laughed.

"I'll need Joe to help me get the boys there. I'm blind, sweetheart." I widened my eyes.

"What if we get separated?! Then…then you'll be lost!" I exclaimed. Angel and Sara dragged me off to the bathroom before I could inflict any more damage on Iggy's pride.

I waited until they had both disappeared into a stall, then winked at the woman in the balck hoodie who leaned on the counter, looking bored. She caught my eyes and grrinned, and we both disappeaered into the handicap stall.

Moving fast, we switched clothes, until standing before me was... Me. Di. Wearing my clothes and my gadgets. Bearing my scars. Completely and utterly identical to me.

"Someday, you'll have to explain why you needed the switch so badly," She whispered, so quielty I barely heard.

"Someday," I agreed, nodding. "Break a leg."

"You, too, Oreo." She strode out of the stall, washed her hands, and left. I waited five minutes before opening the door and leaving myself.

Pulling the hood up so it covered my face, I walked close to where my group stood and listened, wanting to see if Double was doing okay. If she wasn't, I would sneeze loudly, and she would go back to the bathroom on some pretense, and we'd switch again.

Fang said something in a low voice. Max II started panicking visibly.

"Joey", or Fang, chuckled and slung an arm around her shoulder. "Cool your jets, Rach. Everyone knows you've never flown trans-Atlantic. You'll be fine. Even Sara has done it and she did great."

She started hyperventilating. "BUT WHAT IF THE PLANE CRASHES?!" She demanded, breathing fast, my eyes wide. "Jeff" dragged me and the "kids" through security with help from "Joey".

I grinned and quietly walked off.

* * *

"Mom, it's okay, I can sit by Sara!" Angel said, rolling her eyes.

"No, no! Angelina, I'm not letting you out of my sight! I won't have you surrounded by strangers! Sir, excuse me, I'm a mother of three, please move!"

"Listen," the man said, his face puffing up, "We all got the tickets we got, and this is where I'm sitting."

The air hostess came over. "Ma'am, please sit down. We cannot start takeoff procedures until all passengers are seated."

Di scowled menacingly at the woman and said, "I will NOT be separated from my daughter!"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry," the hostess began again, thinking, _God, why can't this annoying woman calm down? Maybe Karen could switch with me for the rest of the flight?_ "I promise your daughter will be right here, but we cannot force passengers to change seats against their will, and this man bought his tickets."

_Why are they always blonde?_ Nudge wondered. Angel grinned, then concentrated on everyone else. Gazzy was thinking about Mal, who was back at Base, Iggy was thinking about Gazzy and Mal, Di was thinking about how to further annoy the hostess, and Jay was thinking about shoes. Someone had stepped on his foot or something.

She cast around for Fang's thoughts.

Fang wasn't there.

Huh?

"Mom?" Di turned around quickly.

"Yeah, sweetie? Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"No, I was wondering if I could switch with Dad. That way I could be near you, and you know Dad can take care of himself. Sara will help him if he needs it." Di's face lit up.

"That's a perfect idea, sweetie. Okay, Jeff, you're going to want to take three steps to your left, watching out for the armrests, and oops, stop, Jeffy, you're going to knock over the stewardess…Okay, take a step…now one more…and then, here, Sara, help him into his seat. He's blind." She explained to the hostess, who's eyes looked like they were going to bug out of her head.

"He's perfectly capable, Mom." Gazzy chimed in, texting.

"I know, Sammy, but it's kinda hard to deal with. And you really should turn that off, it might affect the plane's navigational things and cause it to crash!"

Jay rolled his eyes. "He'll be fine, Mom. Sara, tell her."

"He really will, Mrs. Williams."

"I'll be fine, Rachel." Everyone sat down, and the flight proceeded awkwardly. The man who had refused to switch seats was muttering about "stupid, blind Americans" (apparently, he was from England, going home, and Iggy had "accidentally" stepped on his foot and knocked over his drink on him.), Gazzy threw a fit about not being able to use his phone on the plane (someone wanted to text his girlfriend), Iggy and Di had to halt a LOT of PDAs between Jay and Nudge (they usually ended with Di kicking the back of someone's seat), Angel's DS slid under a seat and she threw a fit until someone picked it up and gave it back to her, Iggy tried to find the bathroom by himself and wound up in the cockpit, and overall, by the time we reached England, they were all too glad to see us leave. It didn't help that Gazzy had one of his occurences, Ella got airsick, and Di got airsick after panicking about Ella getting airsick.

No one seemed to notice that Fang was gone.

* * *

We finally arrived at Heathrow. The hostess personally "escorted" (AKA kicked us off) the plane, and I pulled out my cell phone.

"Vaulder. We're here. Where do you want to meet?"

A voice behind us replied. "Well, right here, of course, Diane, dear." I gave him a bright smile.

"I'm sorry. You must have me confused with someone else. My name is Rachel. And I'm certainly not saying anything else. Kids, get away from him."

Vaulder grinned. "Ah, lies between friends. Come on, Dianne Mumixam, why come if you didn't want me to know you were here?"

I sighed. Only one person could annoy me like Vaulder, and that was Original. "Make it quick, Vaulder."

"Certainly."

He pressed a button on his watch, and a fire alarm went off. People started rushing away.

"No one will stop us. Now, to talk. Dianne, I need to speak with you, alone, for a minute." He stepped into an office, and I slowly followed him, signaling for everyone else to wait. My hands tensed on my gun.

"I know about your past, Dianne. It would not serve you well to ignore my warnings."

"Vaulder, if you're trying a trick, it won't work. I'm here not to keep a secret, I'm here to save lives."

"Oh, are you?"

I ignored that, seeing as I really had no idea why Original wanted me here. "Really, Itex and Xeti want the same things, but how we do it is different. You create mutants. We heal those who want to be healed, but leave those who don't want to be fixed alone. You run tests by force. We request that they take tests, but if they become uncomfortable, we stop. You create bloodthirsty beings that want to kill anyone and anything to fight us. We have an army of people who have been wronged and just want to fix it. You want world domination. We want to make it better. You want to save the world. So do we. But the way we do it is different."

"You've still lied to your people. We haven't done that."

"Again, you're wrong there. I haven't lied about a thing. Everything I've told them is true. I just changed a few names. I did have a family, I did love them. I did run away, they really never came to find me. I really was mutated. If anyone bothered to compare my story to my old self's, they would find they matched. But no one has, so no one knows." Then my cell phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID.

"Sorry, I have to take this. Hello?" I said as I stepped out of the room.

"Double." I heard the cold fire in Original's voice.

"What's wrong? Kind of busy right now."

"Base is under attack. Abort mission. Get back as soon as you can."

"Oreo. Is Fang with you?"

"What!"

"He didn't come on the plane with us."

"Oh God, oh God, oh God..."

"Oreo. Get a grip."

Gunshots, screams, a crash, static from the phone. "ORIGINAL!" I shouted.

"Gotta go." She sounded shaken. _Nothing _shakes Original.

"Oreo, what--"

Click. She'd hung up.

I turned to face Vaulder.

"You--!" I shreiked. "You will regret this."

"I don't think so," he said, smiling slightly. "Attack!"

Nt's swarmed out of every door. My eyes widened. I sprinted back to my group, and they all go their weapons out.

I gritted my teeth and called on the lightning Original had lent me. I don't have her powers, though I do have my own. But she'd lent me a jar of lightning. I wasn't sure what it would do--she'd just said, "use if needed."

I broke the jar and, BAM!

A deep blue force field spead around us like a can that was open on top--I guess that was our escape route. One of the NT's tried to go through it; he got fried. If you think that must have looked gross, try to imagine the _smell_.

"Di, what's going on?" Angel asked me.

"Protective sheild. When they figure out it's not bullet-proof we're screwed, so let's go. Jay, I'll carry you. The rest of you, up'n'away. We've got to get out of here, and we've got to help Oreo."

"Oreo?"

I laughed. I had forgotten they didn't know that Oreo was the real Di. "She's my friend. She's the one who called and told me. I trust her, and she trusts me. She's got wings, she's following them. She's like…my twin, I guess. We look the same, but believe me, we're not related by blood."

"So you've met her and her family?"

"I've known her since I was fourteen. I've met her family, they didn't exactly impress me. Tried to kill me, for one thing. I guess freaking out about their powers didn't help…"

"Wait, her family had powers?"

I nodded. "There's more than six Avian-American hybrids, you know."

Angel was starting to piece it together. "How big is her family, exactly?"

I shook my head no. "I can't tell you that. One, she would kill me. Two, she would murder me in my sleep. Three, she would kill you lot. Four, she would then bring each of us back to life, remind me of the contract she made me sign that forced me to secrecy, and Five, she would proceed to make our lives miserable beyond belief."

"Oh." Nudge winced. "That could be painful. Do we get to meet Oreo? She sounds fascinating, and I really want to see her wings!"

"No one gets to meet Oreo, just like that. She's got…trust issues, I guess would be the best word for it…None of you will probably meet her, unless you know her by her blood name. Come one, come on, up and away!" I spread my wings, ignoring the gasps etc, and leaped into the air, holding Jay. They follow, and we flew out of there _fast, _the NT's on our tails.

Original, I will sooo kill you... once you've done what you need to do...I hope you do it soon...

But wait...the only time Oreo would sound panicked would be if she was dying. Or dead. Oh, my, god. Oreo was dead. _Di_ was dead.

**Okay, we've got the next chapter ready...just waiting for one last edit from Etta...it should be up soonish.**

**Reviews would be awesome, but I'm not going to hold the next chapter over your heads until you review. Please, for my sake, review. PLEASE! I'll even accecpt flames. Goodness knows I need them.**

**Luna**


	15. A Brutal BlowDead or Captured? Fang?

**A/N ...**

**Wow, I'm impressed. Toxic Rain42 and YourMoosyFate got it right...I'm not telling anything else though...even though they got two different aspects right.**

**I don't own it, so don't ask.**

**And to clear up any confusion, Oreo is Original. Original is Max I who is also Di.**

**Double is Max II.**

**Love, Luna**

* * *

**Eight Hours Earlier (while the Flock was on the plane)**

I checked Max II and the Flock's flight status. Good, they were just boarding. I was about three hours away, flying for all I was worth to get back to Base. See, we (we being Katrina and myself) had called in a favor from a good friend.

I hoped Max II was doing alright. Two days ago, I'd looked into the future and seen Base under attack. I didn't want to leave Base, but I had to come to the meeting with Vaulder.

So the other me went. Max II. She joined Itex not long ago. We can get along--somewhat. I mean, we don't attack each other or anything. We're not best friends. But we rely on each other. We trust each other. We've fought enough battles together to learn to get over old grudges.

Plus, she owed me. So she agreed to do this. She calls me Original, Oreo for short. I call her Double.

But enough about that. I was headed back to Base. I could only hope I'd get there in time.

**Seven Hours Later**

I streaked faster and faster towards Base, wings pumping, heart racing, lungs burning. I knew something bad was going to happen, and I knew that it was still several hours to Base. _Let me get there in time,_ I prayed to anyone who had time to listen. _I'm sorry if I haven't been very devout lately, but if I get they in time, I promise, I'll become a nun. Anything_. But as I shot through the sky, I had no way of knowing if my prayer would come true.

Finally, _finally _I reached base. I dived down and through the open door, then landed with a jolt onto the blood-stained floor of a battlefield.

My people were outnumbered by the NT's, NE's, and other things I've never seen before. We fought with whatever we had—bombs, guns, knifes, hand-to-hand. Even though our training's the best, we were losing.

Snarling, I launched myself into the nearest fight: three bad guys and five trainees. I kicked, I punched, I clawed—when my blood's hot like that, I'm untouchable. Two down. The trainees took out the last one, then looked at me, scared. "If you're injured, get out," I hissed at them. "If not, then try helping!"

I wasn't mad at them, I was mad at Vaulder, but still, it was irritating when my people were dying and they just stood there like it was all some reality show.

I took my own advice and pulled out my gun, shooting down a few enemies, though I missed more often than I'd've liked. _Okay, chill. Relax your arm. Take your time with each shot. Sight your target. Then shoot. _

That was better_._ At least I wasn't missing by so much anymore. Juju would have been ashamed of me—Juju! Where was she?

I scanned the hall, but there weren't so many people left. I was sure there were others scattered around Base. I helped kill the NT's here—I learned long ago that leaving them alive is the worst thing you can do—and poured on the speed as I sprinted up the steps into the assembly room. There she was! Two NE's against her, and her gun was knocked out of my hand. I ran up and snapped at kick at one's spine. It collapsed—I know my pressure points.

We took down the other one together, and the Juju hugged me. "Oh, Di, I thought I was dead!"

"Never," I whispered, kissing her forehead. "How're the others?"

"Don't know. Molly's hurt, I think they captured her. The rest--well, no one's dead, as far as I saw."

"I have to warn Double." I pulled out my cell phone and started whispering orders, when—

"Di!" Juju screamed. I heard a couple gunshots. One clipped my wing and I gasped. "Juju!" I screamed, seeing her crumple to the floor. No time for that now. I pulled out my own gun and shot our new opponent with a shaking hand. Three shots—two missed, the last one wasn't fatal.. There was another bang and suddenly my right leg wouldn't support my weight. I collapsed, aimed another shot, missed his chest, hit his head, and took him out.

"ORIGINAL!" Double shouted over the phone, sounding way freaked.

"Gotta go," I whispered, and hung up.

"Juju!"

"Di?" she moaned. I checked her over.

The bullet had gone through her shoulder, maybe shattered the bone, but it hadn't pierced anything vital as far as I could tell.

I bound up the wound. "I'm leaving you here, kay? I'll be right back. I just have to look for the others."

"No, Di…"

"Sorry, Juju," I whispered, and kissed her forehead again. Then I blew some knock-out blush into her face, and she was out like a light. I didn't want her to feel pain. I put some ointment on my leg, something that temporarily kept away pain, and bound that up, too. I hid Juju in a closet—I couldn't have the NT's finding her and kidnapping or killing her. Then I continued my search.

I barreled past a corner and found the training courts, where Dag, Jon, and Gira were fighting five NE's and NT's. I spread my wings—the training court was the only place in Base with a ceiling high enough to fly—and dove down at one of them, holding a knife. I landed on his shoulders like a panther, and slit his throat.

Dag, who'd morphed, looked at me in amazement. "Di?"

"_DI!" _The others shouted, relieved, and then we were fighting again.

We'd almost wiped out the NT's here when a new load came barreling in. I shot a panicked look at the others. When would all this end?

We retreated to the weapons room, armed ourselves, and ran back out—there's explosives in there. We wouldn't want to be caught in an explosion: we'd be blown to smithereens. Whatever that meant.

Armed with our weapons and a few of those bullet-proof shields the cops have in riots, the four of us made one of those back-to-back stands in the corridors and held our positions. I also found a mike—great, it was linked to the intercom. I'd deal with that later.

Enemies coming at us from every direction, Gira, Jon, and Dag shot at them, trying to kill as many as they could, while crouching behind the shields. I was too busy to shoot; my force-shields can be bullet-proof, but only if I'm concentrating on each individual shot, and to be shooting at the same time would be too much.

I heard a voice in the mike: Solomon, the martial arts specialist. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

My concentration wavered and Gira screamed; I'd failed to stop a bullet. I struggled not to panic. "Hide entirely behind your shields for a while," I hissed at them. "Only shoot if you're sure you won't get hit." Then I turned my attention back to the mike.

"Sol?" I whispered.

"Di?! But you're on a mission!"

"I came back. How many of us left?"

"Don't know, we're all spread out. I have five BLT's with me, one junior BL. Everyone's taken some damage, but they're all able to shoot and walk. We're almost out of ammunition. We're not being shot at right now."

"Come to the corridor between the weapons room and the Group 6 dorms. Fight your way through if you can—there's a lot of 'em. We're just in front of the weapons room. Me, Gira, Jon, and Dag."

"Roger," he said tensely.

"You can shoot again," I informed my team unnecessarily—they'd never stopped. Gira had switched to her right hand, and her aim was unsteady, but she was good to start with, so she could still hit. "Solomon's on his way with a couple people."

Dag brought down the last of the NT's on his side, then Gira's were shot from behind. Thank God for Solomon. With the ten of them attacking those in the corridor Jon was facing and our superior weapons, it was over quickly. I looked at everyone. "Okay, people, details."

"They attacked maybe two hours ago," Gira gasped, leaning on Jon as he tended to her wrist. "We tried getting the greenest of the BL's out, but a lot of them were killed. Maybe ten. The rest of us put up a stand. We've lost the dorms for the BLT's and some of the classrooms. I'm not sure what they want. I mean, if they were just trying to destroy Base, they'd have blown it up, right? And I think they captured Molly, so they want at least some of us alive."

"Someone spilled?" I asked. Well, we'd known there was a traitor since the mission to Pretoria . But the fact that they'd actually betrayed the location of Lightning Base, our best-kept secret… Well, somehow I'd never imagined anyone would go that far. Evidently someone had. Someone with a lot of information—even most of the people _in _Base didn't know where it was.

"Yeah. One of the higher-ups. Don't know who."

"Who do you know for sure is dead?"

"They captured Molly, so I'm sure she's alive. At least five dead BL's in the practice courts, and maybe the same died trying to keep the dorms. They seem to be trying to capture rather than kill, especially the higher-ups."

"They're fighting this like a siege? Gaining ground, losing ground?"

"Yeah."

"So they're trying to get somewhere."

Dag groaned and slapped his forehead. "Glad you're here, Di—how could we all have missed that?"

"Cause you were busy fighting? Just a guess."

I ran over the possible points of interest in my head, then through everyone else. They'd blown up the lab. We'd just left the weapons room, but we had to post a guard there just in case.

"The landing strip?"

Jon shook his head. "Half of them came from there."

"Your office?" one of the trainees asked shyly.

"Can't be, what do I have in there that's—oh! Of course!"

"What is it?"

"Nothing that's news to me, but a whole bunch of stuff I'm the only one to know—like the location of every Xeti Base, the names of everyone even remotely in charge, mission times, _everything_. Come on, don't sit here waiting, let's go!"

My office was deep underground. You had to pass through several passcoded doors to get in, which was the reason I didn't go in there much—it took time. But _that _security was just to stop any overly curious BLT from entering. The NT's could blast through them in a second.

We fought our way there. It was agonizingly slow. Two of the trainees had to stop because of new injuries, and Gira, too. Normally I would have stayed with the, but we couldn't let Itex get to my office. And I'd left the self-destruct pusher thing in my room. The NT's had taken over.

It took hours to reach it, only to find absolutely nothing. No one had even found this place. Great.

I loaded up the computer, ent every files I had to Katrina, and then destroyed every trace of it. Even if they did come, they would find only physical evidence, and I didn't have time t get rid of that. "Kay, guys," I told my escort. "Stay here, hide, and if anyone comes in, kill them." I waved off the objections. "We're killing two birds with one stone here. Jon, Dag, Sol, they're trying to capture the higher-ups. You with less training, you'd be killed. _Comprende?_"

Dag sighed. "Yes, Di."

"Good." I turned and went back for Gira. "Di, behind you!" She screamed just as I found her. I whirled around, pulling out my gun—what an idiot I'd been, walking around with it in my pocket the whole time!—and took down two NE's. I wasn't sure how many there were. Too many. I couldn't fight them, not injured and exhausted and with limited amo.

There was an explosion; five of them were blasted to bits. I looked wildly around and saw GIra smiling weakly at me. "I spent too much time with your pyros," she whispered.

She sounded so weak! Dammit, dammit, _dammit! _Why did I fall for Vaulder's stupid trick?

No time for though. I pulled out two grenades, my last ones, and blasted the NT's. Then I fired at them until I ran out of ammunition. God, this was getting tight. There were still a dozen left. My heart pounded, as if it were trying to get as much out of its last beats as possible; my breath came in gasps.

I was going to die.

As a last resort, I put of my force shield, shielding me and Gira from bullets. Why, do you ask? Because some stupid part of me preferred dying with my skull smashed against a wall than a quick, clean death by firing squad. Because that same stupid part still hoped.

As they quickly learned, their bullets, grenades, you name it—totally ineffective against me. So they got closer. One pulled out a wicked looking machete. Compared to it, my dagger was a butter knife.

Gira staggered to her feet, determined to make her last stand with me. "Escape," I mouthed to her, but she hook her head. For an eternity, we stared at the NE's, and then I launched myself forward.

It was like something had exploded—at once, they all came shrieking down on me. Gira did her best, but I think she got knocked out after about ten seconds. I hope she got knocked out. She wasn't moving.

We fought for several minutes—infinitely long for a fight. They couldn't take me out, but I didn't even knock out one. I managed to disarm the one with the machete, but I had to drop my own knife.

Then one of them fell screeching from behind.

"Fang!" I yelled, too shocked to be relieved. Suddenly something hit me, hard, in the chest and the breath left my lungs with a _whoosh_. When I stopped gasping for air, he was standing beside me, expression unreadable, helping me to my feet. I immediately went for Gira and put two fingers to her neck. If felt her heartbeat pulsing steadily into my skin and relaxed. I turned to Fang again.

"What are you doing here?"

"Saving your life."

I gritted my teeth. "Did you follow me from Dulles?"

"Yeah. Are you the real Di?"

"As real as she gets. I have a friend. We switched in the bathroom. I didn't trust Vaulder." I looked around me. "Turns out I was right."

"And you didn't trust us?" He looked angry.

"Remember the mission? The sabotaged plane? We've never had information from the inside spilled until then. What was I supposed to think? It was a precaution."

"Do you still doubt us?"

I shook my head. "Whoever spilled here had information from the inside. I called for backup. Ocean should be here any minute."

"They're here now."

"Good. Let's go to the landing strip—they might be escaping from there."

He followed me there as I ran, _fast, _through a bajillion corridors, up a couple flights of steps, and finally onto the roof, our landing strip and helicopter pad.

"Retreat! RETREAT!"

I knew that voice.

My blood froze and I looked towards the helicopter that had NT's and NE's piling in. I searched for a human among them, and found him. There. Pale white hair, bleached skin.

It was Mart.

Mart, one of my trusted advisors.

Mart, to whom I'd have given my life.

Mart, whom I'd never, ever suspect, because his record was so clean.

Mart, whom I loved like a brother.

I closed my eyes, fighting back the tears that threatened to leak out behind my eyelids.

Mart, who'd killed dozens, maybe hundreds.

Mart, who'd given away the location of Base.

Mart, who had betrayed me.

Mart.

My breath came in short gasps, my fists were clenched so hard that blood soaked my fingernails. Slowly, a murderous rage boiled up inside me.

Mart would pay.

_With his life._

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**And the suspense builds...Will the Flock figure it out? Will Mart get away? Will Lightning ever recover from this brutal blow?**

**Until the next update,**

**Luna**


	16. A Deadly Discovery: I Know Who You Are

**AN: Yay, lookie here, it's an AUTHOR'S NOTE! Sorry for the wait on this chapter...I was finishing editing. I'm sorry, but the updates will slow considerably. You're all probably frustrated with all the people saying they were going back to school, that they were still blah blah blah....I'm starting HIGH SCHOOL, BY MYSELF, 'cause everyone in the area who's my friend is a grade or two below me. I'm young for my grade.**

**I'm already in a state of panic, and then to add to chaos, I got a new brace in my mouth. It hurts like heck, and I can't talk straight. I've been trying to readjust, making it hard for me to type and talk and try to not yell in pain at the same time.**

**I'll try to update every Monday. How's that sound?**

**Sorry! Love, Luna**

**PS-I think I've said this before, but I don't own Maximum Ride. Neither does Etta. She DOES however, own her story, the plot, at least, ya know, Silenced Voices, and I DO own the plot here, along with Juju, Mart, Gira, Vaulder, Jay, Molly, Dag, and most of Lightning. Yeah. Um. So. Blinkblink, let's get this started!**

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I winced for a second, then started attacking in blind rage. I fairly flew (without wings) up the steps, racing against time. I reached the roof, fifteen stories above my office, and ran faster, faster, faster! My feet barely skimmed across the ground before propelling me further. I finally reached the helipad, where Mart waited with NTs and NEs in a helicopter.

I could only imagine what it must have looked like to any Lightning watching. Their brave, strong leader, eyes blazing, emptying clip after clip of bullets at one of her third in commands, and when they pulled out of reach of bullets, she smashed jars of what looked like electricity, and hurled bolt after bolt of blue lighting at the retreating helicopter. I screamed in blind injustice, and I guess that's why when a voice spoke, it shocked me.

"Di! What are you doing?!" At the accusing voice, I turned to face them, and when I saw Fang, I stepped back.

Then I slipped in a patch of blood and skidded off the roof.

I couldn't help it-even though I'd have survived the fall without them, my wings reflexively snapped open, throwing me off balance and making me land awkwardly. I staggered to my feet, and then Fang was behind me.

For an instant, our eyes met, then he shoved me against the wall, holding my arms to my sides, one fist cocked to punch. "I don't believe it! You're with-" Suddenly, he broke off from his accusation and stared at me.

"You're Max," he whispered. I was startled to see fury in his eyes. "Explain," he choked. "Now."

"Explain what?" I asked, slowly freeing my wrists from his grasp.

"Explain why you left us. Explain why you made my life living hell for nearly four years. Explain why you jumped off a freaking cliff without opening your wings and you're still alive and you-let-us-believe-you-were-dead!"

He gulped in air, then hissed, "Tell me now or I'll make you wish you died at the School."

"I don't know what you could do to me that would be more painful than jumping off a cliff and surviving," I told him and jammed my thumbnail into the sensitive flesh just below his palm. Using his rigid fist as support, I leaped into the air, spread my wings for a controlled flip and landed behind him. He had just enough time to whirl before I snapped a kick at his chest and pushed him face first onto the ground. I forced his wrists together with one hand and sat on his back, incapacitating him.

"Yeah, I'm Max. Now, do I let you up so we can have a civilized conversation or do I just wait until you choke?"

"Let…me…up…" He gasped, and I stood, reaching my hand out to help him do the same.

He ignored the hand and stood too, wincing. Hurt by his refusal, but determined not to show it, I folded my arms across my chest and waited.

He simply stared at me with dead eyes. I started explaining. "When I stepped off the cliff, my new power kicked in, and I accidentally created a force field to slow my fall enough that I survived. Two hikers found me, I think, and called 911. They rescued me and put me in the hospital, but found out about the wings. Then, Katrina ter Borcht showed up and promised me to clear it up if I agreed to work for her. I accepted. I couldn't try to kill myself again, but I had to stay away from you."

Fang's face was twisted in pain. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I thought your lives would be better without me in them."

"No. You didn't. You were a good leader, and you knew it. You stayed away from us because you were afraid." His eyes blamed me for all the pain he had felt over my death.

Fang always could tell when I was lying.

"Yeah. I was afraid. When I first saw that vision, when I first saw that I would be the death of you all, I was prepared to die to save you. But I lived. I came closer to death than any living person should ever come, yet I survived. I couldn't kill myself again. I was too scared. You would be too. So I stayed away from you all, because I was afraid, as you say. Afraid of dying and afraid of what staying with you might lead to. Happy now?"

"What vision?" His voice was harsh.

I just stared at him. "What are you talking about? Didn't you read my note?"

"You left a note," he said, disbelieving. Did he think so little of me that he wouldn't believe I left a note?

"I told you to move on, to forget about me, because it was all for the best."

"We didn't need your note then," he snarled in my face. "'Cause we did move on, Diane Mumixam." Then he left without once looking back, gracefully taking to the air.

For the first time in three years, I crumpled to the ground and cried where I could be seen. For the first time in almost eighteen years, I let myself be vulnerable, and wept.

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**I know it's short, but it had to be to get my point across. Now, someone in the Flock knows....so what will happen next? Will the Flock accept her back, as the new and improved Di, or will the consider her a traitor of the worst kind, like Fang did? Will her name become Mudd? (Anyone who's seen National Treasure Two can tell me about that...I'm wondering if you'll figure it out!)**

**Wait and see, it'll all be revealed soon. And I'm getting tired of telling you guys that I can't spill about the plot-it's called spoiling, and I really don't want to do that to all of you lovely people. So, please, so I'm not tempted to tell you, just don't ask. I don't mind, but I don't want to ruin the whole thing for you...Questions and flames are fine, though. In fact, I'd LIKE a flame, just someone saying the reaction is stupid, or that Max would never leave, or ANYTHING like that...please?**

**Love, Luna**


	17. Sibling Moment: Trackers: DI!

**A/N: Okay, hi guys! Happy Monday!**

**Actually, no it's not happy. I had a quiz in some subject or other. I think I have like three, actually…not sure which classes, but I have threeish.**

**I got a few comments, and I have a few questions ABOUT the comments and such.**

**Okay, first off,** maddi ()**, was that a good "…wow" or a bad one?**

Toxic Rain42**, you asked why it wasn't Iggy. Simple. Iggy never touched Di. And even if he had, she's changed a lot. Her skin's toughened, cracked, etcetera, and remember, Iggy couldn't tell her voice because had grown and her voice changed, along with height and weight shifts because of her getting older. Therefore (and I know it's a totally old word, but I love it), Iggy wouldn't recognize her.**

shadowleaf264** …Thank you for insulting my nose. I appreciate the insult-ificaion of my nose. And yes, the flame did make me happy…even though you were technically flaming yourself.**

K.S.L () **You were excited, considering you used all CAPS. Wicked…good wicked or bad wicked? And I'm trying to update, but I got this whole…school thing!**

'Samz-ness' **You'd be surprised who accepts and who rejects…I'll think about it, but I don't want the story to be one of those cliché "Max leaves, Flock takes her back no questions asked" stories, so, we'll see where this goes.**

Rowena of Naxen** No, Fang isn't happy that Max is alive. He had just gotten over her death, but then he found out that Di WAS Max, and well, he got mad. His best friend/girlfriend/sister/he-didn't-know-what "killed" herself and never bother to a) tell him why, and b) when she saw him again, she didn't tell him that she was Max. Also, about the Di crying on the ground thing, Fang didn't see her crying, he left like she did when he kissed her, so it hurt her like it hurt him. Fang was just too stoic to cry, and so is Max, but Di sure isn't! Did that even make sense?**

nicole ()** Request granted. Do you happen to be friends with **K.S.L () **or **maddi ()**?**

Feathers789 **Actually, I can't take credit for this chapter. If you look up in the reply-to-comment section above, you will see shadowleaf264. She's the author of this particular chunk. We both say "thank you"!**

Kelsey Goode** …what wasn't up to your expectations? Maybe the Vaulder thing will happen. But maybe she has a different secret that he knows…**

VenomShadowCatt** Wish granted; here's the update!**

**WOW, a lot of you reviewed…was it 'cause of the angry Fang thing? Or was it because I finally enabled the anonymous review thing? Maybe it was the crying Di thing…**

**Okay, so hugs and my maple-triple-choco-chippy-cookies to everyone!

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"Di," Juju called. "Di! DI!" She ran down the halls of the shattered Base, peeking in rooms as she passed, searching for her sister. Her heavy footsteps matched her heart, but she pushed away the fear and climbed the stairs to the roof, still searching.

Her search led her to the roof, as she followed a set of bloody footprints to a spot on the roof she wouldn't have expected.

The helipad.

She skidded to a stop in front of a message written out by a finger dipped in blood. She read it, once, her eyes widening, then blinked and read it again.

_I've gone after them. They've got M and also me. Send help-if you find this in time. ~D._

Juju did the only thing she could think of-she tipped back her head and screamed. Long and loud. Less than two minutes later, Dag was on the roof, looking for the source of the scream.

"Hey, kiddo, what's with the screaming?" Dag was like her brother. When he was young, maybe seven or so, he'd lost a sister he could hardly remember, so he had decided to adopt Juju as a replacement.

Juju only pointed at the message. Dag quickly read it. "Do you know what it means?" She shook her head no.

"I hope we can find her. How are we supposed to send help if we don't know where she went?"

"Don't worry, kiddo. We'll get her back. Hey, do you know what happened to the team she was supposed to be with? Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, Ella, Jay, the Ocean, Nudge, and the Phoenix, Ella? And wasn't Fang supposed to be with them?"

Juju shook her head. "Nope…I know that Di was talking with Katrina and Double for a long time before the mission, but that's about it. Oh, and she spent about two minutes on the phone with an unknown party, until I got shot…then she knocked me out with her blush, and I woke up in the broom closet. Thanks for letting me out, by the way…"

"No problem, Ju." Dag waved it off.

"Oh, yeah, and Gira said that Fang arrived and helped them when they were overwhelmed in Di's office…then Mart called retreat, and she chased after him…and Fang apparently took off after her, and neither of them have been seen since…" Dag knelt next to the marks. The final D was crackling lightly, and he gingerly touched it.

"It's definitely from her. No one else can control energy like her, much less keep it in the blood for this long." He paused. Juju read the pause as, _She's been gone too long for us to stop her_.

"Yeah…" Juju's voice was quiet, and undertones of fear crept through her voice.

"Okay, we know Max II is involved, somehow, and Fang was here instead of in London, where he was supposed to be, for some unknown reason, plus Di made a mysterious phone call to an unknown person-slash-party, in the middle of a fight to the death, presumably telling someone that Base was under attack. All of this adds up somehow, we just don't know how. Goddamn her and her secrecy!"

He read the shocked expression of Juju's face with ease. "Sorry. Any ideas?"

Juju was fiddling with a slinky that had apparently been in her pocket. "If Molly were here, we'd know. Di tells Molly everything. She told Molly that she was Max before she even told me."

Dag processed this information before speaking. "I guess we can safely assume that she'll go after Molly. I have a tracker on Molly, so we're good to go there. Let's figure out what Vaulder could earn by having Molly captured."

"If I were Vaulder…" Juju mused. "If I were a leader of Itex…I would capture Di, not Molly…"

"So what can they gain from the captured people? It's not just Molly, the final count was forty three dead, seventeen captured, Molly included."

"Wait, when Ella and Gira were captured, Di went after them. They weren't that important in Xeti, and Itex probably didn't have much interest in them, but then Di came and rescued them."

"What's your point?"

"They know Di would come and rescue them. It would be harder to capture her here, on her home turf, or on a mission, when she had dozens of people who could help her or come and get her if she needed help. Destroy a lot of her support, and the untouchable Di is suddenly very vulnerable. Lure her out with people they know she would rescue, and have her only possible backup be untrustworthy in her eyes, and she's very easy to capture." Juju's voice held more wisdom than the average twelve year old.

"Oh! Since Mart betrayed her, she couldn't be sure if she could trust me, Molly, Gira, or even you…if we offered help, she'd have to think to figure out if we meant well, or if we would betray her. Those seconds that she thinks would slow her down and make her an easier target. It's a perfect plan, if we weren't all so loyal to her." Dag commented. "Nice work, kiddo. We'll get a lock on Molly's position, go help Di, and pull everyone outta there. Let's go!" Juju and Dag hurried across the roof and down the stairs. They had a plan, and they were going to carry it out.

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A group of people crowded around the computer screen, talking excitedly. Dag, Juju, Gira, Ricky, Jon, Jane, Ben, Mal, and several of the Blues, Reds, and Greens- the only people who were most certainly loyal to Di.

Dag himself sat at the keyboard, rapidly typing in commands. It zeroed in on a map, each keystroke highlighting or zooming in on a section of the map. Finally, a blinking red light showed where, and a side bar on the screen scrolled through the coordinates of that specific location.

"There's Molly. Wish I'd thought to put a tracker on Di…that would make ALL of our lives SO much easier." Dag laughed. Gira chuckled.

"Well, we did have one on her at one point…Remember? She found it, tracked each of us down within an hour, unassisted, and then forced us to watch as she zapped it. We haven't put one on her in ages because of that."

"Put one on who? Oreo? Don't bother. She's dead." A voice, just like Di's, but a bit softer, spoke. The entire group turned around at once, various fighting stances at the ready.

The uniformed group gasped: there stood Di, or at least, an incredible look-alike. She carried an unconscious Ella, and behind her were the four missing members of the flock, Jay standing shakily near them.

"Remind me never to do that again." He whispered, closing his eyes. "Seventeen hours of flight is too much for anyone."

"DOUBLE!" Juju rushed forward and hugged her.

"Yeah, Julie. Why are you so happy? Oreo's dead."

"No, she's not. She hung up because I got shot." Juju shrugged her injured shoulder, wincing slightly. "She's just missing. We think she's gone after the POWs, but we're not really sure, actually. We'd track her, but we don't have one."

The Di lookalike strode forward. "Move, Lewis." Dag stayed put.

"Why should I?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe I know where my base is, and I have a tracker on her to help you find her, along with the fact I brought her family to safety after an ambush at London Heathrow?"

"What?"

Double smirked. "Didn't you even know where she was going? Doesn't tell you much, does she?"

Iggy elbowed past her. "We want to know what's going on. You're not Di? Your voice is just like hers. Why was Fang at Base instead of on the mission? And why do you have wings?"

"You'd think you would be sort of experience with the whole wings shenanigan yourself, Winged Wonder," Double drawled.

Juju spoke up. "You met Fang?"

"He looked pretty pissed. I'm guessing he figured it out and wasn't too happy. I'm thinking it took him long enough."

"That's enough, Double. Where is he?"

"Don't know. He flew off."

"Wasn't he supposed to be on the mission?" The blue named Ricky asked, somewhat confused.

Everyone looked at Double.

She shrugged in reply. "He left with Di. I thought she asked him to come with her when she left. It's not as if she ever tells me anything."

Just than a speaker crackled to life somewhere in the walls of Di's office. "Anyone in here?"

"DI!" Juju screamed.

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**Until next Monday! If I can get over this whole torture that is "High School", I'll start updating more often...**

**Love, Luna**


	18. Torture:ConferenceCall:TheSunInTheMaze

**HOLY TOLEDO!**

**I can't believe you guys! Less than 24 hours after posting, I already have…22 reviews, 2 new subs, and a few miscellaneous favorite stories and authors somewhere in there too…**

**I have to say…I wasn't expecting that at ALL. I mean, the most I've gotten before this was maybe…eightish? What happened to that? You made me feel all guilty, like I'm not doing enough!

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**Another thing-I finally got the commanding Lightning Photo Gallery up, so you can now see most of the characters (minus Mart) on my profile…if you want….If you've found a better picture for any of them, PM me with the lyrics, or if you find a pic of Mart, please send it, I need it!

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**Okay, answer to reviews!**

**Rowena of Naxen—You're welcome! And yeah, she did leave a note…but who said they found it? That'll be addressed soon. And yup, you got it in one! To answer your question…yeah, it is, but they haven't had time to put two and two together. They didn't talk to Fang yet, and they haven't figured out that Di wasn't with them in Heathrow.**

**Fangsgirl123…lol, yeah I can! I'm sorry about the cliffhanger, but it was necessary…thanks for all the reviews!**

**Sam () What about the kittie kat?**

**maddi () yay! Can I get the cookies in dough form, please?**

**maxride333…sorry! I don't mean to confuse people, but the plot just flows that way…**

**Silentflier…no, Di isn't captured, Fang is off in who-knows-where, and no, you can't beat me into a pulp!**

**K.S.L…Thank you! Gracias! I really hope you aren't a stalker too, because that would be awk-weird.**

**Kelsey Goode…may I ask why you didn't log in? Thanks for being such a devoted fan!**

**VenomShadowCatt…Yup. Suspense. I specialize in such. High school is crazy…how's your high school?**

**musicfreak61692…I can...'cause I can!**

**Toxic Rain42…haha, sorry? Sorry about the confusing of you. But everyone confuse best do I, so conversation over, this is not! Sorry. Couldn't resist.

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"DI!" Juju screamed, scrabbling for the communications mike.

"Whoa, Ju, slow it. Who else is in here?"

Juju started rambling off the names. "Oh, and Double and the Flock."

"Fang?"

"Nope. He guessed, right?"

There was a pause. "In a manner of speaking... does the Flock know?"

"No."

"And they want you to explain."

"That's right." Juju shot a glare at Nudge, Iggy, and Gazzy, who were gagged by Dag. "They look ready to breathe fire, let me tell you."

Di paused again. "I'm over 52." Fifty-two was Xeti code for the Florida Itex base.

"And there's a problem. Otherwise you would have charged in without second thought," Dag completed for her. "I know you can't see me, but Di, please pretend that there is a look on my face that says that I'm about to kill you."

"Actually I can see you... special camera, special glasses... And ouch, yes, I see the look."

"Stop stalling."

"Stalling sound rather good right now... Okay, okay! I'm over 52, as I said. I have two guns and three shots between them."

"Di?" Dag asked calmly.

"Yes, Dag?"

"Did I just hear you tell me you invaded an enemy base WITHOUT ammunition OR backup?"

"Unless you have hearing problems, Dag, that is exactly what you heard me say."

"Could you please leave of the attack until we get there?"

"Negative, Dag. My people are here and in pain _now_."

Juju grabbed the mike. "Di, this is insane. Please, please don't do this. I love you, this is suicide, you'll die, and then what will Lightning do?"

"No can do, Juju. Dag can lead you. But the Lightnings in there…They need me."

"Di, _please. _You won't help anyone..." Juju broke off, choking on sobs. "I don't want you to die!" she wailed, losing control.

"No one's gonna die, Juju, except Mart and possibly Vaulder."

A voice crackled to life from the walls. "Dianne Mumixam, this is Katrina."

"What the--Dag! You put her on!"

Dag didn't look one bit abashed, and Katrina went on. "I forbid you to go on that mission alone. If you disobey my orders, you will be guilty of insubordination and have your mind wiped and be kicked out of Lightning... if you survive. What's more, if you try to resist, you will be put to death."

"I'll deal with that, Katrina, when my people stop screaming in agony from Itex's torture machines."

Everyone in the room flinched. Suddenly, Angel spoke up. "Fang's outside."

Dag rose to let him in. Fang stomped past him, looking like he could kill everyone in the room.

"Where's M--Di?"

"Over an Itex base trying to get herself killed," Juju said flatly. "Partly because of you, I might add. Where the _hell _were you?"

"JULIE! LANGUAGE!" Di shrieked as Fang snarled, "Looking for the easy way out again, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Juju protested.

"Of course you don't. I bet you don't even know who she really is. But this isn't the first time she faked suicide to run away from her problems."

Max II smirked. "Sorry, but I'm with Fang on this one. He does have a point."

Fang turned to her. "And who are _you?"_

"Can't you guess?" Di asked brutally from the intercom. "She's one of the people you tried to kill, several times. You weren't there when she saved my life. But you were there when I saved hers."

"What?"

"Like you don't know, Fang. You used to be able tell the difference between us-the only one who could. It's amazing what hair dye and colored contacts can do for you…ooh, ouch, that's a dangerous glare. Dag, quit it. I'm not talking to you."

Ben spoke up from her seat on the floor, tears dripping from her cheeks. "Di, wait for backup. It's the only option. You have to listen!" Mal knelt next to her.

"Di, if you won't listen to us, please, at least listen to Ben, Mal and Juju. They love you, and if you're going to throw everything away, at least don't fake it. Please!" Gira cried, watching Mal stroke her sister's hair.

"I swear to God, Di, if you go and get yourself killed, Ben and I are applying for the wipe. You know you're our only family left, Di. You know Omi and Theta are dead. Dead and gone." Mal slipped up and let a tear fall. She swiped it away angrily and buried her face in Ben's shoulder.

Juju glared at the walls. "Di, I can't see you, but I can tell you this-you go in, I will not hesitate to go with Mal and Ben for the wipe."

"The wipe?" Nudge asked softly.

Gira explained. "The wipe is when all your memories are removed from your mind and you are given new ones. Then, you are discharged, and placed into a normal life. You won't remember anything, and nothing triggers them back, because they're no longer in your head."

Di sighed. "I can't wait. I'm sorry, but I have to do this. Dag, it's Molly being tortured in there. You know she's like my sister. I can hear her screams from here, and I'm three thousand feet into the air. I can't leave her. I just can't."

"You have to. You might be our best markswoman, but we can't just throw you into a suicide mission with three bullets. Diane, I just can't let you."

"Yet you let Mart betray us. I don't see you hunting him down, not even when he's the one pushing the button to torture her." Di's voice cracked with heartbreak, and they didn't know which was worse—that Di was showing this or that she didn't seem to care that she was. "Mart is killing my sister, Katrina. This is like Marianna slowly and painfully murdering Analisse as you're forced to watch and listen to her screams. Would you be able to survive that without doing something? This is as bad as the sun in the maze, Katrina. This is worse than that. This is worse. Much worse." She spoke of one of her nightmares, but in code. Only Katrina and Juju knew what Di meant.

Juju gasped and started crying. She knew just how bad this was now, how badly Di needed to do this.

There was silence. "All right. You say you're over the Florida branch? Remember where you met Max II for the first time? Go to that very room. Under the bed will be a sealed safe of weapons. If you can open it, you can use the weapons and explosives in there. Mal developed them, so you know they're good. I won't let Ben, Mal or Juju go. Angel, Gazzy and Nudge will be detained as well. I can't see Fang rushing to your aid, but Iggy is free to go if he wishes. You know who will come to help. We're sending the supersonic. Wait two hours, please, Di. We'll be there soon. Just hang on." Katrina told me, a breaking note in her voice. "Stay safe, Di. I can't lose another of my sisters." A click ended the call, and Di finally hung up, closing down the viewscreens in her glasses.

She swirled and dove, racing for the motel where she first met Max II. The Twilight Inn, prepare for Di. Quickly, room 109 was rented to a Maxine Rider, and just as quickly the door was opened and bolted shut.

It was five in the evening. They'd get here by seven.

Di had an hour to do this, and she had to do it good.

She reached under the bed and pulled out a metal case.

* * *

Di hung up with a sharp click sound.

Juju started crying. "Oh my God, poor Di! Oh, oh!" Mal hugged her, and Ben slipped into both girls' arms.

"What did she mean by the sun in the maze?" Gira asked softly.

Juju shook her head. "I can't say, oh, God, poor Di!"

"You keep saying poor Di, but you won't tell us why." Fang snapped. "I'm tired of her keeping secrets from us. What did she mean?"

Angel gasped sharply. "Di is Max?!"

All heck broke loose after that.

"No, Diane Mumixam is in no way related to Maximum Ride! No way, no how!" Ricky exclaimed.

Ben's voice cut through the multitude of voices. "She never lied; she just changed the truth to protect us."

There was another silence. "Dag, you would know. Is Di Max?"

Dag looked away from Iggy's blind stare. "Ben's right. She never lied. But she never told the whole truth, either. Deduce from that what you will, but for now…we've got to get going. We're heading to Florida. Itex Labs, to be exact. The place where Double and Di met, and the place where Di spared Double's life. People under fifteen, I'm sorry, but we've got to send you to safety. Iggy, you're allowed to come, if you must, but Nudge and Angel are getting sent to Ocean, for a while, at least, Gazzy and Mal will have to join the Tsunami's for a while, and Juju and Ben are going to the Phoenixes. As for the rest of us…we're going into the sixth layer of hell. Prepare yourselves."

And with that, they dispersed to grab equipment, fuel up the supersonic, and basically prepare for the mission.

But despite their brave faces, they were scared. Di had managed and prepped all of the teams. They'd been drilled in case something happened to Di on a mission or she was unable to be there, but this was the first time in three, almost four, years that she hadn't personally been checking over the gear.

They hoped that it would be the only time she wouldn't be there.

* * *

**Can anyone guess what the Sun in the Maze means? *hint-I mentioned it before***

**See you next Monday! Or maybe Friday, if I hurry...and I'm motivated...and those three outlines for science do themselves!**

**Luna!**


	19. Saving Di: Molly's Blood: Explosion

**Hey, Luna here, with the next update... So, what did you think of the characters? Did they match up to what you thought they'd look like?

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**

**Kelsey Goode…I'll try to update soon (or now, really), and I'm not sure about the FAX, but it'll have to fit with the plot…We'll see…!**

**Jade Sparkles…close, but no.**

**maddi () () Gracias! Um, Juju and Dag? What kind of characters? I feel I should warn you, I get obsessively protective of my characters…I'm Luna…insane, totally out of it most of the time, a dreamer to the point of delusion…I have dark blonde/brown hair and blue-green eyes…five feet, eight inches plus…I'll let you use Juju and Dag, but I get to read it and get veto power…they ARE my characters, ya know…**

**Sam ()…yay! I like randomness…as you may have deduced by now… haha…I hope you're down from your sugar high….**

**Toxic Rain42… No, you haven't, but I guessed from your constant reviews! Cool, thanks for your support! Di does have a bit of an overreaction. And yeah, it does have something to do with that….**

**Fangsgirl123…thanks! I'll remember to update soon.**

**K.S.L ()…wow! Two reviews! Gracias, and wow, lay off the poor CAPS key! I've read it…Did you like the pics of the characters?

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**

I grabbed weapons from the box and tossed them aside. I couldn't do anything with that junk. I was betting that Katrina would know that would slow me down, trying to improve them, but I wasn't going to let that stop me.

I'm Diane Mumixam. I can do practically anything. How hard could it be to take them down with only my bare hands? I've done it before, so this should be a piece of cake.

Fifteen minutes later, I was inside. I grabbed a white lab coat and slipped it on. According to the ID badge, I was a junior scientist named Lucy Stryker.

I hurried down the hall, carefully picking the locks. I snapped a kick at the base of a whitecoat's spine, and he went down without a sound.

I don't know why, but it was practically empty in the non-torture wing of Itex. Maybe because they had new subjects. My feet barely brushed the ground as I raced through the School, the white coat I had stolen flapping lightly.

I had just snapped the lock on the door when someone spoke to me.

"Are…are you Diane Mumixam?" a sharp, male voice asked me, the barest hint of an accent tingeing his voice. I turned, and faced a small, Asian man, probably Thai, judging by his accent.

I flashed a wickedly sharp grin. "Maybe. Maybe not. What's it to you?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering."

I glared at him. "Well, you've got it wrong. The name's Lu Stryker." And with that, I knocked him out with a powerful right hook. I couldn't kill him. I'm a fighter, not a murderer.

God, I hoped this ended soon.

* * *

The supersonic raced through the sky, easily breaking the sound barrier and almost reaching the speed of light. We landed in Florida and hurried to Itex.

The gate was cracked, and a small blue sphere of energy pulsed by one of the hinges.

Dag took one glance at it and swore violently. Really, really violently. Gira cuffed him on the back of the head twice.

"If Di and Molls were here, they'd snap your neck for that. Bad move, Dag. And if Juju and Mal were here-!" Dag simply glared at Gira.

"You realize what this means, right?"

"No…should it ring a bell?"

"Yeah. It means Di directly disobeyed orders from her higher ups and went in. She also refused to listen to any of the girls who consider her an older sister, as well as us. Di's in there."

"Great. Let's go play hero." Gira calmly vaulted over the fence, and Dag jumped, feet hitting the pillar before flipping over the gate. Everyone else stared as they tried to figure out how to get into the compound. Finally, Ricky just pushed the gate open.

* * *

Dag peered around the corner warily, and Gira smacked him upside the head again.

"Dude, quit that. It's more suspicious than pink hair."

"Fine. But your accent isn't really helping either."

"My accent isn't that bad!"

"It is when you're stressed!"

"Ai. Usted es un hombre estúpido. ¡Cierre para arriba! ¡Mi acento no es ese malo!" Gira snarled.

"Huh?"

"Oh, cierre para arriba. Apenas vayamos los Di del hallazgo."

"Translation, please?"

"No, es demasiada diversión. Le diré quizá más adelante."

"This isn't funny anymore, Gira.

"¡No a usted, no está, sino que a mí está!"

"Shut it, Gira. Let's just go find Di and get outta here."

"Fine. Vamanos."

"Will you STOP that!"

"…I just said let's go!"

"Oh. Um, then, yeah. Let's go."

Gira snorted, tossed her braid over her shoulder and strode down the hall like she belonged there, turning her nose up at mutants, her actions clearly saying that she was superior to them. She was a scientist walking down the hall to her next assignment, Dag following like a good NE guard. No one dared stop them.

* * *

I rounded a corner, and flashed my access pass at a door scanner. Footsteps behind me made me turn slightly to reveal one short Hispanic girl and one NE.

"Hi, are you new? I'm Lu Stryker." I said warmly. "Welcome to Itex labs."

"DI, you are SO dead when we get home." Gira snarled under her breath. She passed me a gun. I grinned.

"I know." Then the door slid open and I hurled myself in, my gun spitting fire. When I ran out of bullets, I threw myself in using my bare hands. Gira and Dag were working fast with gunfire.

Quicker than they could see, I blurred through the rooms, unlatching cages, opening doors, helping them get out.

I counted sixteen live people. Thirteen of them were sporting battered limbs and bleeding wounds, but still able to move. One of them was immobilized, but still awake. Two were unconscious. Sixteen were safe and alive.

But not Molly.

Where was Molly?

"Molly?" I called softly. "Molly!" A bit louder. A low groan caught my attention. Quickly, I undid the lock to the next room and found Molly on an operating table, Mart and several scientists surrounding her. One of them held a wickedly sharp knife to her throat. I growled as they spun to face me.

Angrily, I hurled myself into their midst. A spinning kick dispatched one of them, a powerful right hook knocking out another.

I slammed into the routine, breaking bones, hurling them into unconsciousness.

Kick knocked that one down.

That one hit his head on the table.

I impaled that one with his own blade.

Sometime during the fight, Mart slipped away. I didn't notice until I was freeing Molly that he wasn't one of the people I'd killed or knocked out.

She shakily stood, then collapsed into my arms. I scooped her up—now I get what Fang always used to say, what was she eating? Rocks?—and hurried out the halls. The rest of the Lightning Fighters were there, along with Iggy. Fang didn't seem to be there....but someone I couldn't see took out an attacker that came up behind me while I tried to get Molly to safety.

"Thanks." I whispered, and yelled for Dag. He was at my side in seconds, seeing the battered, bloody state that Molly was in.

When he scooped her up, I noted how badly off she was. Her red hair was matted and bloody, she sported a gash on her forehead and her am was bent crookedly. Her clothes were torn and she had blood trickling out from a cut on her stomach. Like her arm, her leg was at an unnatural angle, and I'm very sure it was broken.

She really didn't look good. I whistled retreat and everyone finished up their fights and ran. Dag hurried out with Molly, Gira following with a backwards glance at me. I flicked a finger and blocked the hallways with energy walls. Moving fast, I planted bombs and got out of there. I took to the skies and saw my Lightnings just outside the gate.

I had seen how many had come in a vision. Twelve.

I counted twenty nine. That was everyone. I pressed the detonator and watched as the whole place blew up. One last figure, black haired and black winged sped out just as the first lick of flame spread.

Oops. I guess Fang tagged along. Thirty.

Well, I'm in trouble. I nearly blew up Fang.

He's not going to be happy at _all_.

* * *

**Hey, guys. Thought if you were even reading this, you'd be interested. Skip it if you don't want to hear about my dysfunctional life. I mean, seriously, I've managed to get a cold, the flu, AND allergies. My teachers have been piling homework on by the ton (I had not one but TWO massive World History essays in ONE week, with only two days to work on BOTH of them. I think Mr. T, while he may be the most awesome teacher ever, doesn't realize that we are FRESHMEN and that we had several essays for other classes as well). Plus, my parents went to Germany, leaving me and my two sibs with a lady who's like our grandmother, but isn't since all three of our real ones are dead. Yes, you read that right, three. I also have three grandpas.**

**On top of all THAT, I found out that one of my friends has been doing some not-so-good stuff to herself. Not like drugs or anything, but not helping her body, either. I've sworn not to say what or who, so...**

**My life is stressful, and to add to my disfunctional life--I HAVE FREAKIN' WRITERS BLOCK!!!**

**Head, this is desk. Desk, meet head.**

**Hopefully, everything will be resolved by next Monday.**

**Love, Luna**


	20. Explosion: SISTERS!: POLL!

I swooped down and landed gracefully and grabbed Fang's shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were in there. I thought everyone was out. You 'kay?" I asked. He shrugged my hand off his shoulder.

"I'm fine." He turned abruptly and took to the skies. I rolled my eyes and turned to everyone else.

"Hey, ya'll okay?" I asked, slightly worried. Dag was kneeling next to Molly, who was by far the worst off. Various Lightnings were helping the others.

"Yeah, most of us are fine. Molly made them take her instead of us." One of the people, I think his name was Madison Vickers, I think, a Green, and I could see by the cut on his forehead that he hadn't gone unscathed.

"Well, we gotta get you outta here, unless you all want to go to a hospital." I saw a few cringes, and took that as a no, they didn't want to go. "Well, then, ask Dag or Gira. I came here before they did, and have no clue where the h they parked." Gira gave me a glare and then led them to the supersonic.

I settled in the medbay, working to bandage people's injuries and trying to numb them a bit with smalls shocks of energy. I peeked into their futures and discovered that most of them would live, but Molly was cloudy. If the right things happened, she would survive. But if one person, just one, made a wrong move, Molly would die. While looking, I also saw Fang back at one of the backup Bases, so I knew he was safe too.

I finally got to Molly, who now had an IV, an oxygen tube, and several other wires I wasn't sure what they were for. I'm not a doctor, and I can only handle small injuries. If I tried to help Molly, I'd make it worse. I hated this feeling, this vulnerability.

I couldn't save her.

And if she died, it would have been my fault. I sat next to her, stroking her lifeless hand, letting the tears fall, hot and salty, onto my lap.

Dag sat across from me, on the other side of Molly, checking her pulse. I stood to give him time with her, and as I left the medbay, I saw him press a kiss to her forehead.

At least that gave me hope. Dag wouldn't let her die, no matter what.

Gira caught up with me and nodded towards the medbay. "Hey, how's she doin'?" she asked. Like me, she considered Molly an older sister.

"She might survive, she might not. But we can't lose her. I don't think I could take it." I told her, softly. She nodded.

"We couldn't replace her." I blinked, surprised.

"You'd take her place, Gir'. That's why you're a third—to take over if something happens to a second." Gira pulled me to a seat on the plane.

"No, Di. I won't become a second. It would mess too many people up. You know what would happen if Molly died. We'd lose Molly, and you, because you wouldn't stay around without Molly—Everyone knows, Di. Everyone knows that the only reason you're still around is because Molly keeps you sane. I mean, when else has Max Ride stuck around longer than a month without her Flock, anyway?" I shrugged in acceptance of this. "Dag would go into depression, and I couldn't handle taking over everything, which is what I would have to do. Normally, I'd have…you know, but I don't anymore. We have to figure out a way to fix all of this."

I pulled her into a hug. "I know you miss him. But he made his choice, and you made yours. " I let her go. "Who do you think you could work well with?" Gira looked down, plaiting her shirt hem.

"Well, I…I'm not sure. I mean, Mart and I, we just clicked…I was thinking maybe Ella, but we need a guy to do it…"

"What about…Ricky Baker, maybe?" I suggested. "When you were a JBL, you two were pretty good together…"

"I guess. If you think that's why should do it, then he can do it."

"No. I don't want to force you to work with someone that you aren't comfortable with. I know Ricky's from Canada, very well qualified, and he was actually one of the people we originally considered for a third, since you two worked well together. How about a trial run? I'll have to talk to Emerald. I don't think she'd like me just stealing one of her Greens." Gira laughed.

"You're probably right, there. I can't see Emmer just giving up one of her people without a fight." I hugged Gira suddenly.

"You know it'll turn out allright, Gir'. We'll figure out a way to fix all of this." Gira nodded, but a tear slid down her cheek.

"I know. I trust you, Di." Then, she stood and left. I just stayed there.

How could I make sure this all worked out? Alone?

* * *

We landed at the central headquarters, where I knew a ticked off Katrina would be waiting. I'd gone directly against orders, and I would get chastised for it, but she wouldn't actually wipe me, as per her threat. I was too important. If Emerald or Tory tried the same thing, they'd get the same result. We'd get put on mild probation, but nothing serious would happen.

Sure enough, the second I stepped off the plane, a furious shriek rang through the air. Katrina marched out of her office, yelling angrily.

I just sat down on the tarmac and waited as she stood in front of me, screaming. I found a nail file and quickly smoothed down my nails—I'd bitten them down to ragged tips.

Gira leaned over my shoulder. "Fifteen bucks says she keeps this up for the next half hour."

"Forty-five." I whispered back. "And no, I didn't check the future."

"So check!" I dropped into my mind and scanned the immediate future.

"Thirty-seven minutes and twenty-eight point nine nine repeating. You win." I handed over the fifteen dollars and kept watching as Katrina turned various shades of red as she yelled.

I reached into my bag and pulled out my ipod and shoved one of the earbuds in. I tuned out. I was listening to Fireflight, and of course, I chose Unbreakable.

Finally, thirty six minutes later, I stopped my music and dropped it back in my bag. Katrina was running out of steam and finally sighed.

"Okay, I'm done. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" she raised her voice almost to a shout and winced. "Ooh, strained my voice."

"What was I thinking? I was thinking that if I didn't get in there, Molly would be dead, Katrina, dead. I had to help her! It was that or watch her die. You know I could see it." Katrina lowered her head.

"I'm sorry, Di. I'd forgotten about the Maze. Did they…?"

"Not as far as I could tell. If they did...I swear to God I'll go back and decimate every single last one of them." Katrina could tell I was serious, and a few people working on the supersonic flinched at my razor tone.

"Well, we've got work to do." Katrina's tone was fake cheerful and I knew instinctively she didn't actually have work for me.

"A'right, let's go." I rolled into a somersault and stood. "Have you seen Emmer or Tor anywhere? I dunno where they got moved to, after the whole Mart scenario." Katrina patted my shoulder. "Yeah. The Greens moved in with the Tsunamis, the Reds with the Phoenixes. The rest of the Blues are over at Ocean. We just dragged you to the central base because we had a few ideas we wanted to bounce off of you." She smiled wearily. "We think we should break up the specialized branches and merge entirely."

Looking at Katrina now, I was a little bit scared. This was _Katrina_, the unshakable foundation of Xeti, _Katrina_, the girl who watched someone she considered her sister brutally murder her twin and worked hard for _fifteen_ years to avenge her sister's death, going so far as to stab them nearly seventeen times. This was _Katrina_, the one who dared to defy her family to save lives. This was _Katrina_…one of my best friends. But now…she had silver threads in her black hair, and worry lines were permanently creased in her forehead, prominent against her pale skin. Her pretty black eyes held knowledge beyond her years, and I could see that she had seen things no one should by her age. She seemed older than she was, at least forty, when in reality, she was barely a decade older than me, only twenty-seven.

A sudden shock hit me. This was because of me and mine. If it weren't for the Flock going public, Katrina wouldn't have started Xeti. If it weren't for me running away and jumping off the cliff, she wouldn't have saved my life and started Lightning. If it weren't for me, Katrina would be a normal adult, going to her daily job. She'd look her age, and her eyes wouldn't be so world weary. If it weren't for me…Katrina would be normal.

"Why'd you slow?" Katrina turned and I didn't have enough time to slam my mask back up, so she saw my thoughts clearly.

"Don't worry about it, Di. I'd have chosen to do this with or without your involvement."Like always, her eyes warmed a bit when she saw me. In her eyes, I was almost the sister she'd lost. A reincarnation, if you will. "This is what I'm supposed to do with my life, Di. This is what God wanted me to do."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Don't worry about it." Katrina kept walking and I followed her, my thoughts still churning. "And by the way…happy belated birthday."

"WHAT?!" I shrieked. "Katrina, it's not my birthday!"

"I know. Your birthday was about seven months ago. We hacked into Itex…found out your real DOB, and age and all. Turns out, you were actually fifteen when you jumped, and you're eighteen and seven months now."

I glared at her. "I'm not eighteen. Eighteen is _old_."

"Fine, stay seventeen. But you can't legally adopt Ben, Mal and Juju until you're eighteen." Another knife glare. "Oh, I knew you were planning it the minute I saw you and the three of them together, Di. It was obvious." More glares. How is she not dying? "Fine, give me the silent treatment." Die, Katrina, die. "Okay, the glares are creeping me out." Die, Katrina, die. Die, Katrina, die. "Seriously, Di, stop, or I will find someone else who can adopt them."

"Fine." I gave up. "What else did you want to go over with me?"

"In here." Katrina opened her office door and shut it firmly, then turned to look at me. "In those files you retrieved from Itex, we found some interesting information. Like your DOB, birth name, parents, etc…but we also found something that might interest you." She took a deep breath.

"I know I was supposed to be Vanessa Martinez, my DOB was apparently eighteen years and seven months ago, and that my parents are Jeb Batchelder and Valencia Martinez. So what did you want to tell me?"

"We found out that…that…you have _two_ half sisters."

"_What_?"

"Your half-sister, Ella, is a twin. At birth, they were named Gabriella and Cassandra. Cassandra supposedly died, Gabriella survived. Or so your mother thought."

"I don't like where this is going, Katrina. I don't like this." I told her, worry tingeing my tone.

"Well…it turns out Cassandra was mixed up with another baby. Both had Hispanic heritage. Cassandra survived. Of course, she didn't know this, so she was raised under a different name. And…and…" This wasn't like Katrina. She normally just told you straight out.

"Spit it out, Katrina."

"It's Gira. Gira and Ella are twins." I'm pretty sure _that's_ where I fainted.

* * *

**Okay, I'm putting the AN down here from now on.**

**A couple points to raise. One, everything's settled back down, so we should be able to update more regularly.**

**Two, my writer's block has vanished.**

**Three, my mother has told me I have a toothpick fetish. I don't think I do. This might have been due to the fact she had just been on a plane/airport/taxicab for eighteen hours added to jetlag/bum knee/allergies/medication and was thusly stressed/exhausted/in pain/drugged, so…but still, TOOTHPICKS?! I mean, she went to EUROPE and brought me back one of those nestling doll type things that held TOOTHPICKS. I mean, COME ON!**

**Four, I'm ticked at a few authors on this site. Why? Well, someone decided to copy CL! You know who you are. If I catch you at it, I will report you. If you want to use characters, plot or even the IDEA, please, please ask me first! I will give permission, but to me, using my plot and my idea without asking me is like rape. It's awful and unfixable, okay, so please, just don't do it! If I can give credit to JP for the idea, then you can give me the credit for this idea. Another reason I'm ticked--my Beta decided to ABANDON me! She's moving off FF, and I'm about ready to murder her. Don't worry, she'll still BETA. And hopefully, she'll BETA for point seven. If I decide to do it.**

**FIVE! I read the new summary for Fang, and I found out about Dylan, and I was totally making a WTFFODIAFB face. For anyone totally out of my loopedy loops (WHEEE!! *giggles*), WTFFODIAFB means What The Freakin' Flagnob of Doom In Antarcica's Freezing Blizzards. Seriously, JP, can't you leave well enough alone?**

**Six! Has anyone considered what adding Dylan to this fandom will do? *shudders* It'll be full out war. Miggy vs Mang vs Mylan or Dax…*shudders again* I mean, wow. BUT what IF it went Iggy/Ella, Max/Fang, Nudge/Dylan! It would all work out! Nylan…or Dudge! It could be cute! And that way, no one would be left out! Or if Iggy went with Nudge, then Dylan could go with Ella! Eylen…no..not a good ring to it…how about...Dylla! YEAH! Dylla!!**

**Seven! I'm considering starting a prequel to this, from the eyes of Malevolence Zeta-Rho, bringing it right through until the end. I won't write it if I don't have interest, but I do want to know what you think. And I'm setting up a poll on my user...**

**Thanks!**

**Love, Luna**


	21. A Forgotten Past

**Hey, guys! A lot to say, but I"ll put that at the bottom.**

**I don't own Max Ride...wish I did though...even though the books would have a lot more high tech gadgets and more of a base with secret missions than being on the run, plus the FAX would be totally non-existent due to my inability to write romance...**

**Vote on the poll or Molly dies...NEW PICTURES...Di's got changed...

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**

"Di…Di…" a voice called through the blackness. "Great, Katrina, you killed her. What did you tell her, anyway?" It wasn't Juju or Gira or Molly…so who was it? It was a guy, but the guy wasn't Fang or Iggy…or anyone I knew, really.

"Classified." I knew her…It was…K…K…Katrina!

"Tritri, we're on the same level as her. We need to know." This was a different voice from the first one.

"Uh-uh. It's Lightning commander classified." Katrina wasn't going to tell them something…

"And we're Lightning commanders too." I really should know who they were!

"Nope. You're sub-commanders. Di fills two slots. I don't know how she does it." Sub-Commanders? Di?

"How do we wake her up?" The second voice asked. She had an accent, one I couldn't place.

"I know…DI!!! MAL AND GAZZY RAN AWAY TO VEGAS!!!" Who were Mal and the speaker? I could tell it was a man, but I wasn't sure beyond that.

"Hm. That normally would have worked. How about…JUJU'S GETTING SHOT AT, DI! WAKE UP!" I tried to sit up at that one.

"Good, she's alive." I opened my eyes and the world blurred in a fantastic array of colors, but quickly settled down. An African American woman, maybe twenty four, with dark brown eyes sat on the hospital bed next to me. She reached up and pushed chunky pink glasses higher on her nose. They looked really nice on her.

"Hey, Di, you're awake."

"Um, my name's not Di. It's Max." I told her firmly. "And do I know you?" I was confused.

"Yeah, Di, I'm Emerald. Well, technically, my name is Jendayi Kiden, but I'm called Emerald 'cause of my birthstone. It was a code name, back from when we first met, an' it stuck like glue. You know this, Di. What's up with you, anyway?" **(A/N, I was bored. Emerald's real name means Give thanks; a daughter after 3+ sons. Emerald has four older brothers. And yeah, they're both her first name. Boredom really sucks sometimes. :D)**

"I…I don't know a Jendayi Kiden…or an Emerald…I know who Juju is, she's the girl who I met a year or so ago in New York. I know Katrina, she helped me when I saw the vision and tried to die."

"Um, Katrina, is it possible to have partial memory loss? 'Cause it seems like she's forgotten about three years, since before she changed her name and appearance."

Katrina sat by me. She looked older than she had. "Max, I guess you might have lost some of your memory. Maybe Mal or Ben can retrigger it. We'll see what we can do."

I stood and dropped into a comfortable crouch. "Hm. Maybe if you told me everything, it might trigger something."

"Well, you go by the name Diane Mumixam, Di for short, and you're eighteen years old. About two years ago, you asked if you could adopt Juju, Ben and Mal. We had to wait until you turned eighteen, but we haven't finalized it yet. Um…You've been the acting commander for Lightning for about three and a half years, as well as the literal commander, and Emerald and Tory over there are your partners when you're the literal commander. You're out in the field a lot, so any time there's a fight, everyone comes to you for advice. Recently you met up with the Flock and it seems like Fang figured it out, and then there was something about you nearly blowing him up."

I nodded, closing my eyes. A girl somewhere around the age of eight walked in. "Hey, Di!"

"Hey, Ben!" I replied, then blinked. "How did I know that her name was Ben?"

"Suppressed memories. They're coming back. You should be fine by tomorrow. I'd recommend staying out of work until all of your memories come back, and I'd stay in that bed until you're sure you're fine." Katrina nodded at Tory's words, then blinked in surprise like I did.

"Tory, when did you learn about medical injuries?"

Tory shrugged. He was maybe two years older than Emerald, and from his looks, he had a bit of Native American heritage in his blood. There was a scar across his left cheek and he had ash smudges and burn marks on his clothes. Pyrotechnic. "I picked up a few things after an explosion knocked some memories off a couple of Reds. Mostly its shock based. Which leads us back to my earlier question. What the _H_ did you tell her to make this happen?"

I muttered "Gira," for some reason, and I knew that Gira was a good friend of mine for no real reason.

"You remember Gira, too!" Ben, the girl who I knew but didn't sat next to me. "You told us how you met her."

A short, Hispanic girl came in. "Oh, hey, Di. I was thinking about what you were talking about earlier, and I thought, yeah, Ricky Baker. I mean, you're right, we do need to replace Mart, and yeah, we gotta talk to Emerald, but I think Ricky Baker would do great. And maybe we could start up something like a Colored Strike or something, or Rainbow Strike, and have teams of like everyone. You know, have a Phoenix, a Tsunami, an Ocean, a Blue, a Green and a Red. I mean, if you notice, there's the six of you, ya know, Analisse, Katrina, Marianna, you, Emerald and Tory! But Tory's like, the only guy. Why is that, anyway?" I blinked. I couldn't remember her, but I knew that it was strange for Gira to ramble on like that.

"Um. Hi, I guess you're Gira. I don't really remember much past two and a half years ago right now, but according to him--" I pointed to Tory. "I should remember everything by tomorrow."

I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed, ignoring everyone's protests. "Look, I'm physically fine. Why don't I go to my…wherever I stay, and maybe some of the stuff in my room will remind me."

Katrina started to protest and stopped. "You know, that's actually a good idea."

The little girl, Ben, grabbed my hand and started towing me towards the door. "When you're here, you share a room with Molly and Gira and I stay with Mal and Juju. Mm-hm," she nodded enthusiastically, her eyes wide.

I laughed, and she led me to a room I remembered, yet somehow didn't. I was expecting to see the room the bare white it had been the way I remembered it, but when we entered, it was anything but white. One part of the room was painted a violent orange, one part navy blue and a third chunk bright red. Somehow I knew the navy blue section was mine.

Photos were taped onto the wall instead of posters or art projects like Gira and Molly's parts. My bed had a dark blue comforter, lighter than the navy blue, but still dark. A small nightstand had an ipod home, a camera, one of the fancy professional kinds, and a glasses case rested there. A bottle of water and a book sat next to them. A dresser and a bookshelf filled the remaining space. But what drew my attention were the photos. I'd taken them, I supposed, since there wasn't a single photo of me up there.

I looked at each of them, each a frozen moment in time that I couldn't remember. There was Molly, two years older than my mind told me she should be, her arm slung around the shoulder of a man I couldn't remember, both of them smiling and laughing at a joke long forgotten. There was Gira, snapping out a kick at someone not in the picture, the little girl, Ben, curled up asleep on a couch in the light of a TV, Juju high-fiving a girl I instinctively knew to be Mal.

Molly with a paintbrush, painting her part of the room red; the man in the last picture she'd been in was holding a bucket of paint over her head, and a drip was falling, caught precisely with the snap of the lens before it touched her head. Juju, lying in a field on her stomach, pen and notebook on the ground in front of her, scribbling words. The girl, Mal, kissing an older version of the little Gazzy I'd known, Ella and my mom waving and smiling from the ground, this picture taken by someone taking off.

Juju blowing out candles on a birthday cake; someone I couldn't remember singing on a makeshift stage with people clapping and dancing along, Molly and people I recognized but couldn't place among them. Here was a group of maybe thirty people, standing together and waving at the camera. There were pictures of people in the mess hall, eating, the corners of each of them overlapping slightly.

Two boys in their late teens, working on the practice courts; another boy, probably only fifteen at most, working at a desk with wires and parts of a machine surrounding him. Gira, on her knees, tears streaking down her face, a book held tight to her chest. A coffin, light blue, with white roses on the top, being lowered into the ground. Mutants, cat children, blind winged snakes, something that looked like a dragon.

There was the Flock, back before I left them, someone with pale white hair fixing a gun, Tory, covered in ashes, smiling at the camera in at the site of an explosion, Emerald doing her thing, Katrina at a computer, all the people that must have mattered to me. Hundreds of photos decorated the walls, the ceiling, all the available space I had. Some of them spilled over into the orange and red walls, but these were pictures that clearly belonged to Molly and Gira.

One picture I couldn't explain, placed right over my headboard. It showed a woman with wavy brown hair, from the back, in a dark room staring out a blindingly bright window. One of her hands was reaching towards it, somehow looking desperate. Gently, I touched it, wishing I knew who she was. The second my fingers brushed it, memories came rushing back.

She was me. But the picture had never been taken, yet here it was. I pulled the photo from the wall and read the back.

_Di_. It was of me, but the date was five years into the future. I grabbed the picture of the coffin. Three years from tomorrow. Gira crying. Next month. The boy with the wires—Gazzy, four years from now. What was this?

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**Okay, my new super long-AN...**

**Please vote on the poll! Only three people have done so, and one of them was my BETA. I'd prefer if you didn't vote only in a review...**

**Speaking of my BETA, I've taken over both of her stories, Lissa and Silenced Voices...I hope you'll check them out, as well as my one-shot, Dear Ella. Thanks!**

**As for my life, my parents have FINALLY gotten over the jetlag and my mammi has admitted that I do not have a toothpick fetish. She then followed it up with informing me that I cannot live without music, to which I concurred.**

**I also got my first pair of converse today! (I know, I'm just that lame...I'm thirteen years old and I just bought my first pair of converse!) I"m outta school today, since it's Colombus day (and Etta accused me of skipping...grrr) plus Mammi dragged me shopping to look for my homecoming dress. I was NOT happy...I really don't like shopping...but we got fabric to make one...so that's good...**

**Um, I replaced the picture of Di and put up one of Emerald.**

**Well, that's about all for my life...so, yeah!**

**Luna, signing off...**


	22. Powers Into Play: A Tragic Loss

**Hey, okay, so an early update. Tonight was my little bro's b-day party, and I had too much Star Wars running through my head, so I whipped up a chapter (actually, this one was pre-written...but I revised it a bit...and wrote a new one to replace it in the line-up). I'll still update on Monday, though. Don't worry about that. More AN at the bottom.**

**Don't own, so don't ask.**

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I burst into Katrina's office. "Explain _this_," I hissed, throwing the four photos onto her desk. She picked up the first one, the one of Gazzy in the future.

"This is impossible…how…how did you get pictures from the future?"Gira, who was sitting at the table with Emerald and Ricky, dropped the files she was going over.

"I don't know. But I do know that when I touched _this_ one—"I pushed the picture of me towards Katrina "—my memories came back. But then I realized that these events in these four hadn't ever happened. I don't have a picture of a funeral, I never photographed Gira crying, I haven't even seen Gazzy at age fifteen and I'm pretty sure I never took a picture of myself five years into the future!"

"That's interesting…You touched the future and got the past. Not to mention that we haven't even reached that point in time…" Katrina mused. "That's really very strange…"Gira stood and picked up the picture of her crying. She stared at the thick leather book she was holding.

"Di…that book is Mart's journal. I'm always watching him write in it. He'd never let anyone touch it." She flipped it over. "A month from now? Di, what kind of joke is this?"

"It's not." I replied grimly. "That picture was on my wall." I showed her the picture of Gazzy. "This one creeps me out. You know Mal and Gazzy?"

"Yup. What about them?"

"That's Gazzy when he's fifteen. " Her jaw dropped. "What the heck is going on?" I pulled the camera strap over my head. I snapped a quick picture of Katrina looking at the picture of me and gasped. "What _is_ this?"

Gira looked over my shoulder at the display. "That's creepy, that's what it is. Who knew that's what Katrina'll look like in a couple decades?" On the screen, Katrina looked about seventy years old, even though she was only twenty-seven. Katrina took the camera. Her hair was silver and she was smiling, holding a young girl on her hip.

"Is it the camera, or the person that takes the picture?" She took a photo of Gira and me really quickly. By now, Ricky and Emerald were standing near us. "No, you two look fine. Emerald, you try." The pictures remained the same. Ricky took a few, and nothing changed in them. I clicked the button once and took a picture of Emerald, and I wound up with a picture of her holding a baby. That gave me a couple of double takes when I showed them.

"I…I have a baby in the future!" She checked the date. "That picture says it'll be in a year and a half…but why would it see the future when you take it?"

"Maybe…maybe it's my power. You know I can see the future when I want, and I'm a good photographer. Photos are frozen moments in time, a rewinding time machine, in my mind, and I can see the future. My power isn't just seeing the future, it's time manipulation! When I go superspeed, I'm slowing everyone else down so I can go faster!" I exclaimed. Katrina dropped into her seat, rubbing her forehead.

"That makes sense." She said slowly. "You can look forward into time, fast forwarding it to see it, then rewinding it to get back. You can slow us down to make you go faster. When you take pictures, everything either completely freezes at that moment or shoots forward into the future, occasionally rewinding to the past. It makes sense."

Gira stared at me. "Time…you can change time!" My eyes were wide, I knew they were.

"Well, crap. This really changes stuff. Oh, hey, Ricky and Emerald are here! Emmer, is Gira talking to you about pulling Ricky into leadership?"

"Yup. Doing a pretty good job of convincing me, but we gotta get Ricky to agree. I won't force him, so he has to choose."

Just like that, the tone of the meeting changed. Ricky seemed to be debating choices.

"If I take up leadership, can I still work with the Greens?" I nodded.

"We can put you in a fifty-fifty position, like I do. I'm half of the two different commanders. You won't have to go out into the field, you'll be at Base. But we wanted you to tag team with Gira, deal with the stuff she deals with—mostly defense and training, really. Occasional paperwork, fieldwork, etcetera. You up for it?"

Ricky suddenly grinned. "Yup. How soon do we start?" An explosion rocked the base, then the evacuation siren blared, and I turned my head toward the door, then back to Ricky.

"Now, Ricky. It starts now."

He looked scared.

Good. He should be.

.

I should never have been there, on the roof. Never. I should have listened to Max—I mean, Di. I should have realized that Lightning was the only family I have.

But what can I say? I'm a loner. I'm the person who is never happy with where she is. So as soon as it was clear Di would recover, I raced to the roof. I wanted out. I couldn't stand these people, these annoying, arrogant, self-centered people, to whom I was just another person who just happened to look like their commander. Worse than that. I wasn't a person. I was an extension of Di.

I suppose some good came from it, because without me to raise the alarm, who would have known? But, bitterly, selfishly, I wish I'd stayed. Because if I know one thing, it's that I, at least, would have survived.

I saw them, marching up the mountain path in a single file. Bipeds, but too large to be human. From the silence all around them, they didn't belong.

I leaped off the roof, a scream in my throat, and flew at them. If I had been able to think, I would have realized that I couldn't fight them off alone. But I never think.

Step, kick, turn, punch, duck. Ignore the pain. Fight with all you have. Let your anger control you. Step, kick, turn, punch, duck. In the strange haze that always descended over battles, I couldn't hear my own battle cry. Step, kick, turn, punch, duck. Fight. They can't get to Lightning. Fight.

When you think you can't get up, get up. When all you want to do is hold the arm broken in three places and shriek, you fight. When you just want to ignore the missing feathers and fly far, far away, you stay, you protect the people who won't ever thank you for it. Is anything worth the pain?

Blood spilled on the grass. Scarlet on the green. You can tell it's yours, because the NT's have blue blood. Should it really be pooling that heavily?

Horrible, horrible pain on your back. You scream as your knees buckle. But you can still stand. You fight, and it isn't until later that you realize how badly your wing is bleeding, how you can't move it, how it's almost torn off.

Should night have already fallen? You aren't sure. You think it should still be day. Then why is everything dark?

Then you hear something. A voice. "No! Double! No!"

Your voice? You can't tell anymore. The world is too far away.

Something closes around where your hand should be, but isn't. Something grips your chin and holds it there. Out of the darkness, you see a face. Your face. No, Di's face. Max's face. Who is Max?

"Stay with me," someone begs. "We can heal you. We…" They say more, but you don't understand.

All you understand is that you should stay. Stay where? You don't know. You just know you should stay. You hold on with all your strength. You fight against the darkness that promises comfort and peace and something to cool the terrible pain. You fight with everything you have.

It isn't enough.

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***sobs uncontrollably* This isn't the original scene I had for making Double leave, but we had to lose someone close...*sniffles and wipes away tears* Etta did too good a job of revising my sparse dying scene...I feel like my sister died... *sniffles***

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**(The following AN was written before revising the death scene...also a peek into the margins of Luna's notebook (seriously, this is basically typed exactly the way it was, 'cept for the PSAT thing...)**

**PSATs. Who else hates them? Really, raise your hands if you dislike them. *groans* I had to take one for three hours, and then had a spanish test less than two hours later.**

**Lukey turned 8, so he's having *drawing of star* wars party 2nite...should probably post next chapter to get mind off of _it_...**

**Need to contact Etta...need plot for SV...and need to get next chapter for ToaM/PB written...edited...etc...**

**Post poll results...maybe next mon? Last chance to vote, remind readers...**

**Go through reviews, thank reviewers...next chap.?**

**FIND SPARE GLASSES. Really need 2 find.**

***misc. doodles***

**Geo. Hwrk Pg. 117 # 1, 2-20 (even) 28, 37.**

**Yes, that is what my notebook looks like, with the story in a neat box and random scribbles of stuff like that (above) there. Now, to thank all of you lovely reviewers...I won't answer questions, unless they pertain to general knowledge, but I will say how many times you reviewed and stuff like that *grabs notebook where a lovely page has all of this listed* Wow...that's a LOT of people...I noticed that the amount of reviews declined for the last chapter...was there a reason, or did you just not feel like reviewing? You may want to skip, unless you want to see your name, all pretty, below...so, do you think we can get to...ih, 160?**

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**And THAT is everyone...I think. I may have miscounted or something...I'm not so good at math...**


	23. Death:An Idiot Named Kevin: Funeral

**Hey, all! Update!**

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"NO! DOUBLE! NO!" I screamed, as Tory's last bombs finished off the NT's. I kneeled next to her and gripped the stump that was once her right hand. "Stay with me," I begged. "We can heal you. We can do it, I swear. People have recovered from worse. You'll be fine." I knew that I was babbling, I knew she couldn't understand me. I stopped.

"Double?" Katrina asked. "Double?"

That's all I was saying, too.

She slumped forward. I checked for a pulse. A few tentative beats, fluttering, flailing. With each thump, more blood leaked out of countless wounds.

Finally, it stopped. She was gone.

I met Katrina's eyes, glazed over with tears. My vision was clear. I had lost too many people. I couldn't cry any more. Each time I lost someone, it was like another part of my heart had been ripped from my chest, and I didn't have enough left to care.

Oh, Double. How could you have lost?

"I'm sorry for everything, Double. I'm sorry, Sasha. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you."

Katrina looked up, a question in her eyes. I shook my head. I couldn't explain that my clone had a name of her own. A secret name. She didn't tell anyone except me. If she had her own name, though, she would have wanted to be Sasha Ryder, archeologist.

I didn't let them take her body away. That was something only I could do.

.

"Gazzy! Gazzy, hey!" Mal yelled as she hurtled down the hall towards the blonde pyro. As he turned, she slammed into him.

"Hey, Gaz'." She grinned as Gazzy righted himself and dusted off his arms.

"'Sup, Mal?" Gaz looked at her grin and grinned back.

"Na' much. The sky. Some clouds. An idiot named Kevin." Mal grabbed Gazzy's arm and towed him towards the mess hall.

"…Why the idiot named Kevin?" Gazzy seemed scared to ask, but relaxed when Mal laughed.

"He's a junior pilot. Thought it would be a good idea to steal Di's plane. I don't think he'll be around much longer, not if he insists on using Di's plane. She's gonna figure it out and _kill_ him. Wanna go watch?" She asked. "Di would wanna say hi. She's been really depressed since…you know…

Gazzy scowled. "No. I hate Di. She ruined my life, quite honestly, and I don't wanna ever be near her!" Mal jumped at Gazzy's outburst, but took it in stride.

"Well, that sucks for you, 'cause you're going to have to put up with her. Discharges are really rare, and your Fang…? Weird name, btw. Anyway, Fang has to approve it, and I don't see him doing that." Mal smacked the back of Gazzy's head when he snickered. "Mind out of the gutter, idiot."

"Fine. But I still hate her. I mean, did she really hate us so much that she'd kill herself to get away? We would've let her go if she did, but lying to say she was dead and actually surviving was so much worse. I really, really hate her."

"You do that. But I don't think she hates you. Never talks 'bout ya'll much, but anyone with eyes can see it. She's missing a large chunk of herself. It's kinda obvious. She adopted Ben, Ju and me as replacements. We know she loves us, but in the beginning, she was just trying to fill a hole." Mal kissed him on the cheek. "Go ahead and hate her. I'll be right there with you. But really, I'm not going to give you more ammo. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to watch Di beat up Kevin for touching her plane."

Mal turned and walked away, leaving a stunned Gazzy standing in the hallway.

**.**

The young woman sat in the alcove, watching Gazzy and Mal through her mind. Her job was done. She could leave, she could go home, back to her life.

But she couldn't leave them alone.

She knew secrets of Itex, of the labyrinths behind their walls. She knew that friendship and families wouldn't mean anything when Itex came to call.

Gazzy and Mal had it easy, she decided. They could be friends for the time being, but she could tell they'd end up as something more. And no, she didn't have the future seeing talent.

Although time was part of her talent. She wasn't like Di, with time manipulation. After all, she herself wasn't her talent. She touched the wall, skimming her fingers over the bumps and grooves of the well worn place. People would touch the wall for luck, like she was doing now.

She had to have gotten the lamest power ever. Like the now deceased Double, she could touch something and know it's age and purpose. She could put herself in someone else's head, feel what they felt, and in essence, be them.

That's all. She wasn't a technopath, like Fang, a telepath, like Angel, or even an empath, like Ben or Nudge. She couldn't shape shift or mimic, like Gazzy. Even Iggy's power of lighting things on fire and putting them out or Double's history power was cooler than her power.

But at least her first power let her job be wonderful. She was an archeologist. She'd worked with Dou-Sasha. She could accurately date something and know its purpose. She loved history—unfortunately, if Di went ahead and attacked Itex now, Lightning would become part of it.

History wouldn't give her the answers only the future knew.

.

I was out in a field, a large and beautiful. Trees fringed the edges of the meadow, but I was here for another reason than beauty.

A large oak tree was in the far corner—a wooden swing hung from one bough. This had been where Dou-Sasha. This had been where Sasha and I had sat and talked. She'd always been out here, reading a book or listening to music or telling me about her adventures.

This was our place. We'd always been here. Now she would be there forever.

I crossed the field, Sasha's body cradled in my arms. Earlier, I'd come out here with a shovel and dug a deep hole, relishing in the hard work. It distracted me from thinking of her death. But now, carrying her body, I could see all too clearly her severed hand, torn wings and awful gashes, even as the shadows began to lengthen. It had been early morning when she died. Now it was twilight. Dag had helped me bring a wooden coffin out here when I'd dug the grave.

Now, I gently laid Sasha down into it, putting her on a thin mattress and covering her with a soft blanket. She looked asleep. I started to close the lid, but stopped.

I stepped away and picked a bouquet of wildflowers, tucking one into her hair and putting the others in her hands. When you looked at her, you couldn't even see the missing hand because of the posies and Black-eyed Susans as well as the others I couldn't name.

Numbly, I kissed her on the forehead and whispered goodbye before I shut the coffin lid with a soft click. I used my lightning power to engrave her name on the coffin as well as the date.

Then it struck me. This coffin—it looked like the picture. I fished it from my pocket, and there was the blue coffin. But as I watched, the blue enameled coffin changed into the wooden one in front of me. The tree in the background stayed the same, and I realized that the future had changed. Flipping it over, the date was different. It was today.

Double had died. So what did this mean for the rest of the future?

I carefully lowered her coffin into the ground and I sat there next to her for a while. "I'm really sorry, Sasha. Really, really sorry." Then I climbed out and began to fill in the ground.

Sometime after the first twenty minutes, I'd begun to sing. Here Comes Goodbye, by Rascal Flatts. I'd sung it twice when I heard footsteps behind me. I ignored them, and kept singing until I'd finished.

It was Gira, who held a candle. Behind her were maybe twenty people, each holding their own candle. She stepped forward and slid the shovel from my cold fingers. She pressed a candle into my hand and lit it with her own.

Then she stood next to the half-filled grave and spoke. "I'm sorry we had to lose you, Double. You were loved, even if you didn't know it. You were Di's support, but I guess you didn't have any support yourself." Then she dropped a pure white flower into the grave and tossed a handful of dirt in. Each of the people said something short and sweet about her, and dropped a flower and dirt in. When they'd each finished, each of them helped me fill her grave in the rest of the way. Dag had been with them, but instead of a flower, he'd placed a white-streaked-with-black tombstone at the head of her grave. It was blank.

"So you can write her epitath." Shakily, I lifted a hand and wrote with lightning.

_Max II/Sasha Ryder.  
Here Comes Goodbye.  
Your Future Was Cut Short,  
Even as Your Past Grew Long.  
Fly With The Angels, Double.  
We Love You._

I finished with the date and her age. No one, not even Double knew her birthday. So she's shared mine, but I just didn't feel right putting mine down.

Everyone placed their candles around her headstone where they flickered softly. Gira wrapped an arm around me and helped me home.

.

Hours later, I knelt in the stone cold room, where four marble slabs stood proudly, with names of everyone who had died fighting for Xeti. Anyone could go in, could see the names of the deceased.

But one thing you never did was count them. It wasn't an official rule, it was an unspoken one.

Today, I broke that rule. I counted the names, I learned who had died.

Three hundred and twenty eight people total, starting with Lucy ter Borcht fifteen years ago and ending with Gregory Young last week from the NT attack. But even as I watched, another name was being carved into a slab.

Max II/Sasha Ryder.

A star was engraved by her name, showing that she'd died to save the lives of others. Two hundred and ninety three others had stars.

Family members could also choose a symbol that represented them—For Sasha, I'd chosen a rose. Beautiful and dangerous. Exactly who she was.

The man vacuumed up the stone shavings, cleaned up the area and just as he was leaving, he turned to me.

"You knew her, huh?" his face was soft and sympathetic as he watched me trace the letters in her name with a fingertip.

"Sister." I managed, before the tears that wouldn't come earlier fell to the ground.

.

"Di's missing!" Those two words spread around the base like wildfire, unstoppable, until it seemed that everyone knew their commander wasn't there. The question of the hour wasn't who or what, it was why. So to get their answers, the Lightings went to the first people they thought of who could answer.

Gira, Dag, Molly, Ricky and Katrina.

Katrina shooed them off with "It's not for me to tell."

Ricky looked so terrified when people asked, they just backed off.

Molly was unconscious, or at least she pretended to be to avoid the questions.

That left Dag and Gira as free game. They were mobbed en masse, but Gira promised she's tell them what was up with Di in a bit.

During the main lunch rush, Gira finally cracked. "Di went on a mission! She didn't abandon us!" she screamed.

The cafeteria fell silent. This was probably the first time it had been silent since it had been built.

Gira took a deep breath, calming herself down. "Di went on a solo mission. There's no chance she could try to kill herself. We have a tracker on her, and she knows about it. She's tracking down any potential allies, experiments, fighters, CSM, especially any of the Omega series, or more specifically, Ben and Mal's siblings."

Chatter filled the hall, and Gira sighed, rubbing her forehead, wondering how Di did this on a regular basis.

"GUYS!" a hush fell again. "Thank you. There's an all units meeting tonight. All of Xeti. The topic will be told there, since it will cause controversy if you don't know the context. Are there any questions, either about Di or the meeting?"

Ben stood on the bench and called out her question. "How long will Di be gone?"

Dag and Gira exchanged glances. "Undetermined. She's sworn to be back by next Thursday, and today's Friday, so six days, at the latest. Make from that what you will, but she's promised to be back. Any other questions?"

Various people raised hands or stood, and their questions were answered, so everything went back to normal. Except for one little girl who planned to attack Itex—alone.

.

**My AN…**

**Okay, the poll is closed!**

**The result? Ten of you voted. Well, eight. Etta and I don't count, right?**

**41% say Yeah! I'd like to see how it all started. That would be seven of you.**

**17% say I'm crazy and that I should just finish CL. That would be me, Etta and one anonymous person.**

**17% say Maybe later…after CL is finished. Three of you…**

**11% say it's too much. Two of you.**

**5% say They prefer knowing what's happening now. One of you.**

**5% say they don't care. That's one of you.**

**0% of you replied whatever. I'm pretty sure that's none of you…although that COULD be the mysterious 4 percent.**

**We will never know what happened to that last four percent.**

**It's looking like I'm going to write the prequel! I'll let you know when THAT'S up. SV should be updated soon! I'm just not sure how to start it, though, 'cause Etta was doing a great job and I'm scared I'll mess up. Reviewers since last chapter?**

**Kelsey Goode: Maybe. It's not fitting into the plot right now, so, I'm going to stop this right now and put in some FAX. (Max: *kisses Fang) There you go. That'll have to work for now…I can't just stop the plot and have it work with FAX. I do have a plotline, as meandering as it may seem.**

**Rowena of Naxen: Okay. Good on ya!**

**-HonoraAngel-: That will be the last POV change…because I would only put the other 1****st**** person as Double, and she's kinda dead now.**

**VenomShadowCatt: Okay. I dunno what happened, either. .**

**Toxic Rain42: I feel like I must inform you…Etta IMed me when she read your review and was squealing 'cause she made you cry…I didn't do that! Etta wrote Double dying! And yeah, Lukey had a good b-day.**

**Maxride333: Thanks!**

**Fang's Stalker: Nah, it happens to everyone…Fang's already reacted…and so has the flock…they're ignoring her. (See Gazzy's Response under "An Idiot Named Kevin" above)**

'**Samz-ness': Yup-yup. Sorry, I had to kill someone, and it was either her or Molly, so…**

**PokemonKnight: Gracias.**

**SexiLexiRoxDaSox: I noticed. See Toxic Rain42 for Etta's reaction to your review…and I hope that F stood for Flockin!**

**ONE MORE, GUYS! Let's see if we can get…171 this time…**

**Luna**


	24. The Greeks: The E House: A Vision

**You're welcome for the update! Thanks for reaching 171! Let's try to get…183? Please!!!**

_**.**_

The tracker beeped and I landed gracefully, folding up my wings neatly. I followed the directions to a small, humble one story house in upstate New York. The area was densely packed with trees, and the yard was meticulously neat. I straightened my jacket and knocked on the door.

A boy, about Nudge's age, probably fourteen, answered the door. His blonde hair was spiked up, his blue eyes defiant. Small scars lined his forearms, neat, orderly incisions, all ages old, but other than that, he was normal.

"Hi, I'm Diane. I called earlier. Are you Ty?" The boy nodded.

"Nice to meetcha, Diane. Come in?" Ty sounded like he was speaking by rote, like someone had told him to be nice. His accent was a slight German one, not as hideous as Roland Ter Borcht's, but still noticeable. I stepped inside the small home. Like the yard, everything had a place and was clearly in it. Since they'd been raised with a military upbringing, they kept military rules in their house. "So, why'd you want to meet us? We're not really that important." Despite his suspicion, Ty was clearly curious.

"Well, you're more important than you think. Can I talk to your siblings?"

"Sure. They're through here." Still suspicious, he led me into a living room where a boy about my age was working on a computer and a girl a year younger was reading, her feet over the back of the armchair and her head resting on the floor. These people were Tau, Sampi and Sho. They went by Ty, Sam and Sho around here, though. Sho was from one of the Asian Schools, the Japanese one, I think, and Sam had been made right here in the US. Ty was one of the kids from the German School.

They were all part of the Omega series, called the Greeks by insiders, like Ben and Mal were. When Itex executed the Omega series, only five survived—Ty, Sam, Sho, Ben and Mal. Ben and Mal escaped with minor scarring and emotional damage, like Ty, but Sam and Sho weren't so lucky. Sho's vocal cords had been damaged when they tried to kill him—he could no longer speak, while Sam had knife scars running down her arms, legs, and slashing across her face. She had miraculously survived the cut that should have killed her, a slice that went from the top of her throat to her navel. It had only been because me and Molly had found her that she'd even survived.

Like the Flock, the remaining Greeks were close. Ben talked to them on the phone at least every other day and Mal emailed them regularly. For some reason, Mal was convinced Omicron and Theta were alive and that we needed to find them. Similarly, Sam was convinced that Beta had survived a brutal murder. Apparently, Beta and Sampi had been as close as sisters, but I could only guess, never being sure. Asking meant death to these people.

"Um, hi, I'm Diane, and I called earlier?" I asked, and Sam looked up at me.

"Hi, Diane. Nice to see you again." Ty was clearly shocked.

"You know her?"

"Yup. She's the one who helped us find this house and get out of there safely." Ty nodded. When I'd first met them, Ty had been unconscious, and only eleven, Mal had been, oh, gosh, only…eight, almost nine, while Ben was five, and barely that. Ben and Mal had attached to me, but Sam, Sho and Ty had opted for a life away from the fighting. Since I earned a pretty high salary and never used any of it, I put into a trust fund, so that any mutants who needed a home could find one, buy it, and use some of the money until they were on their feet.

As of now, Ty was in school, a normal kid, Sho had graduated, after attending a special school for the mute. Currently, Sam was suspended. See, she views her scars as medals, badges of honor, I guess, and some kids teased her for it. She broke a couple of bones, knocked a kid out, and nearly killed another, so the school put her on permanent suspension. She goes to the school every morning, gets her schoolwork, drops off the stuff from the night before, and goes home to do it. Sho helps her whenever she needs help, or Ty takes in a note, since she's mostly banned from school grounds.

Needless to say, Katrina wasn't happy when she found out.

"So what did you need, Di?" Sam closed her book and pulled her feet over her head and stood, before putting a hand to her head dizzily. She shook her head, and her long brown braid swung from side to side. The heavy weight she had tied there swung like a pendulum. "Whoa. Okay, so what did you need?"

"It's Itex. We need some help to take 'em down. We're doing pretty good, holding our own, but it would be nice if you could help out." I told her, my voice steady.

"How bad is it?"

"We've made some progress, denting them a bit, blowing up a few bases, but we're having problems taking down their main base and thought you'd like to help. Ben and Mal would like to see you again as well."

"Ben and Mal?" Sho hand signed something to Sam, who spoke for him. "You mean Rho and Zeta, right?" I nodded. "Yeah. It'd be great to see them. Beta really loved them, ya know?"

"So when are we going?" Ty asked. "If we're going to help, we have to leave, right?"

"Yeah. But right now, we're just checking to see who will fight. We don't know exactly when we'll need help." Sam grabbed a pack while Sho folded up a laptop and packed in a computer bag. Ty was in another room, picking up something heavy, from the sounds of it.

"Well, we're going to head to the main base. Katrina'll help us out a bit." Sam scribbled a phone number on a piece of paper. "You need to contact us, call here." She tossed it to me while I quickly wrote the address of the Base.

"Read it, memorize it and then-" I began, reading the number while Sam read the address.

"Eat the paper?" Ty joked.

"Actually, yes." His eyes widened when he realize I was serious.

"We'll be there for the final showdown, Di." Sampi's grin was wide and dangerous, showing sharp teeth. "You can be sure we'll be there."

.

Luck was with me over the course of the next four days. Everyone I met with wanted to help destroy Itex. I had two days left—if I hurried, I could go back to Colorado and see what had become of my old home, and then I could get home in before the deadline.

Or I could follow orders and go straight back.

Nah. I'm going to Colorado.

.

The house was much the same as it had been the last time I'd been there. That time I'd raced down the stairs, ready to end it all. I hadn't memorized the small details; yet I still remembered them. There was the scratch on Angel's door that she'd raged at Gazzy about. Soot stains marked sites of explosions. New marks, paint colors and scratches and stains showed me what had happened, each a memory.

If Double were here, should could touch them and tell me the entire story behind each and every one of them. But she wasn't there. Itex had killed her—and I would kill them. I climbed the next set of stairs and found the third floor. There was Fang's door, painted black, and mine, plain white.

I touched Fang's door briefly, and then pushed open mine. It swung open easily, to my surprise. All the other doors were locked, but mine was not.

My room was exactly the way it had been, down to the rumples in the coverlet and the sheets of paper on the floor, from when I'd dropped my binder when the vision hit and my drawings and photos had shot out all over the floor. I remember that I'd been working on drawing pictures from photos…I never really got the hang of it. I still drew like crap. I'd meant to clean them up, but I never got the chance. I had "died" soon after.

But one thing was different. On my desk, next to my ancient computer, was a journal. It hadn't been mine—this one was covered in black fabric, with red, blue, yellow and green stripes across it, as if someone had swiped a paintbrush across it. I carefully crossed the room and picked it up.

When I thumbed through it, a familiar set of handwriting jumped out at me. I shut it and opened it again to the first page.

_Letters to Max, Volume 1,_ it read in Nudge's loopy cursive. I skimmed a letter, and it was a journal entry, telling the deceased me everything that had happened. Underneath the journal, there was a small photo album, with pictures of the flock as they grew up.

_**WISH YOU WERE HERE**_. Angel had written in her big, block print, with a small frowny face next to it. She seemed to think I had simply gone on vacation, and that I'd see the album again. I slid both of them into my bag, intending to return them to them later.

I climbed out my window and sat on the roof, tilting my face to the sky. This was where I'd first picked out a chord on a guitar, where I'd kissed Fang time after time, where I'd gone to escape my leaderly duties. Here, I'd written a soft acoustic tune that was now one of my favorite songs. I'd sat here when I first discovered my future power, thinking it over. The roof was my haven, my escape. I brushed my fingers over a piece of wood. It had been from the original house, and there were six names carved into it, back from when we'd first made the house ours.

Max.

Fang.

Iggy.

Nudge.

Gazzy.

Angel.

I touched my name, lightly tracing the letters. Then I moved down the list, but when I got to Angel's name, I was shot into a premonition so bad I think I fell off the roof.

I didn't actually know—I was in too much pain anyway to realize if I had.

**.**

**YAY! 171 reviews! *throws massive fiesta and hands out cookies to reviewers***

**YES! *does happy dance* Sorry. Really happy. REALLY happy.**

**Oops, did I leave you with a cliffie? Uh-oh! The reason for it hitting her so hard, since I know you'll ask, is she's mentally exhausted from learning her new power, that she let her blocks fall just a bit, and also, being in the place where your power originates makes it stronger, therefore, tracing the letters that she'd been touching when she got her first vision makes her latest vision a LOT more powerful.**

**Okay, review answers!**

**SurfandSnowRider: Yeah, Superchick rocks, don't they? Wow, a chappie 10 reviewer!**

**Silentflier: Well, Ben and Mal's siblings are like the Flock siblings; unrelated by blood, except for Ben and Mal, but really close. The Greeks are like a 23 person strong flock, lead by Omega, Beta and Alpha. Omega's the head fighter, Beta (the only girl) specializes in tactics (of course) and taking care of the girls, and Alpha is basically the head honcho.**

**maxride333: Yup.**

**SexiLexiRoxDaSox: Yes, yes, you do. All Etta did was have a massive emotional freak out and then…well, I'm not sure if she broke her computer, or her mom unplugged it…**

**Toxic Rain42: Etta says, "Apology accepted." The note…ah, the missing note…Oh, you'll find out, soon enough…all in good time…The person in the hallway. No spoilers for later on, but I can tell you that she may or may not be a Voice. And there may or may not be more than one of them…And I totally agree…**

**Rowena Of Naxen: It was SUPPOSED to confuse you. I liked her, that's why she came to life, became a good guy.**

**-HonoraAngel- Yes, she's dead. Very, very dead.**

**Maddy (): "Just like a rose, beautiful but deadly" I love that line too!**

**Maddi: cool! I haven't had time to check yours out, but I'll do it when I can…I like Exie and Blaze.**

**Sam (): It's cool that you were crying, and I didn't mean to make you, honest! Thanks for the compliment!**

**Kelsey Goode: Wish granted; here's your update! AWESOME!**

**Bex B & Marie & Izzy: …wow, Bex, I feel sorry for you. You're saddled with Izzy and Marie (see, Izzy, I put your name first), like I'm saddled with Rose and Ella. Don't tell them I said that…shh….I'm sorry, I had to kill Double! Why do you all hate me?! I had to do it! *breaks down in tears*…and Marie, the answer to your question…is…the girl was…THE ANSWER WILL BE REVEALED NEXT TIME! Sorry, but it would spoil, and I can't!**

**So, awesome, all! I LOVE the reviewing!**

**Update on my life…feel free to skip, in fact, skip ahead to the upsides, 'cause this is so long…dad's cousin has cancer & is dying, my BETA is jealous of a girl in her fencing class and keeps coming to ME (the never-had-a-real-crush-and/or-boyfriend), so if anyone has any advice for her on her major crush (that she keeps poking with a sword/foil thing), she needs it, and also, my other friends are in various crush levels, like Becca (different than you, Becky), who got "glomped" by her crush (still unsure if that's a good thing or a bad thing) and then he stole her backpack (?), Joy is depressed to a level of extremes (I personally think Kyle, her BF, dumped her, but she's so depressed she's not talking (Thank GOD we're taking suicide awareness tomorrow…)) and now my dad's leaving for a conference three thousand miles away. Plus, I got forced into Homecoming…I got blisters on both feet after wearing my shoes for only ten minutes (everyone took their shoes off…no clue why, but…there you go), so, blah, I'm upset about htat.**

**On the upside, a bunch of me and mis amigas are going to watch like a lot of horror movies on Friday, and Saturday is Halloween, so, free candy (HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE) and I got a lot of new music on my ipod, so I'm set for the next month, so yayness, and the next chapter is prepped and ready to go.**

**How about we do this? First five reviewers (non-anonymous, since I can't do this with anonymous people) get a preview of the next chapter? 'kay?**

**Love, Luna…**


	25. Explosion Death Lecture Sol y luna

**Okay, here's your next chappie!**

**There's a lot to be said at the bottom, so...**

**Here you go!**

* * *

_The little girl slid a stolen gun and ammo into her bag. She couldn't handle all the worry, all the emotional pain everyone here was going through._

_But she could do something about the worry. They thought Mart would come back and kill them. Their fear spiked whenever he was mentioned. Quickly, she zipped her backpack closed. A gun, a box of ammo, a week's worth of field rations and four water bottles. A sweater and a space blanket. Two clean pairs of socks—no one could live with dirty socks, she thought wryly. _

_She turned to leave, and jumped at the sight of the other girl standing in the doorway. A silent conversation went between them, and the second girl grabbed a pre-packed bag slid under her bed._

_Both girls smiled at each other. They had a mission, and they were going to carry it out. Two people saw them, but the second girl made them forget they'd ever seen them. Quickly, they found a plane, mostly unused and taxied it to the runway, where they took off in the dead of night._

_Swiftly and silently, Angel and Ben took off into the night to wreak revenge on Mart. But suddenly, the plane veered out of control and crashed into the ground, where it exploded in a fantastic ball of fire._

.

I bolted upright. Vaguely, I noticed that I was on the ground, next to the house, instead of on the third story roof that I'd been on. Luckily, I'd landed in a bush, not on the hard ground. I pushed myself up onto my feet and then rocketed into the sky, the vision running over and over through my mind. Barely processing what I was doing, I stroked my wings and kicked in my superspeed. I slowed down time around me and sped myself up to get there faster.

Two hours later, I stumbled into the Virginia base where Katrina, Molly and Gira were. Katrina was just coming out of her office as I landed, and she gasped, I guess at my appearance.

"Ben…Angel…" I gasped. "Are they here?" Katrina quickly shook her head no. Gazzy, who'd been nearby with Mal, turned his head to watch me, eyes wide.

"Had a vision…saw them sneaking out…dying...need to stop them…" I raced for my room, Katrina running swiftly beside me.

"Where are they?!" I asked desperately, before shuffling through my papers to find their locations.

"Di? Wha's goin' on?" Molly groaned from her bed before sitting up. "Wha happen'?"

"You got knocked out and nearly dissected alive by Mart and Co, so we extracted you and sixteen other Lightnings, but you were the worst off, so they gave you a lot of anesthesia while you mended a bit. Now that you're up, we really should call Dag…nearly tore out all of his hair over you, he did." Katrina explained to Molly while I searched for the file.

Molly rubbed her eyes and tried to stand, which Katrina quickly put a stop to. "NO. Molly, you have a broken arm, broken leg, fractured rib, probably a concussion, numerous cuts and bruises, blood loss, head trauma…hon', I don't think you'll be up and about any time soon." Molly sank back onto the pillows.

"Can Phoenix Tears do anything?" she asked, naming the Xeti branch (officially, they're Branch 2-C) that handled medical issues and healing.

"Maybe. We needed your permission. And even though you and Dag are act like an old married couple—" here Molly blushed profusely "—since you're not legally married, we had to wait for you to wake up and get your opinion." Katrina explained as I finally found the file.

"GOT IT!" I yelled, and raced out the door, flipping through the pages. As I headed for my plane, reading, I ran into someone.

"Sorry!" I called as I kept moving. The person grabbed my shoulder and stopped me.

"Where're you going?" Fang asked sharply.

"I had a vision. Angel and Ben are going to try to sneak off to find Mart and kill him. Their plane will crash and they'll die. I have to stop them before that happens. I have to stop them." I tried to pull away and go, but Fang's grip on my arm was too tight.

"If you're going, I'm coming too."I nodded in acknowledgement, and started walking again, flipping through the file.

"Ben and Angel…actually, the records I have show they were separated, Ben with Juju at Phoenix, Angel with Nudge and Ella at the Oceans." I flipped a page. "It says that…when Sasha was killed, they transferred Angel over to Phoenix since both Nudge and Ella were too busy processing information to keep an eye on her." We reached my plane, a four-seater, and I started running flight prep.

"Could you go file the flight plan?" I asked Fang. "I gotta tell them I'm taking plane T-42-A to location PMX for an undetermined period of time?" Fang nodded curtly and vanished as I refueled and finished up the checklist. Then, I found that the speedometer was broken, and that's really important to our flights.

I just sat in the pilot's seat, poking it to see if it world work. Fang climbed up and sat next to me. "What are you doing?" he asked, as I poked it again.

"The thingy is broken." I informed him. "And Katrina is waving at me to talk, so could you try to fix it?" He nodded curtly. Well, it wasn't open hostility any more, but it wasn't anything close to our old comradeship.

I vaulted out of the cockpit, and landed neatly on my feet. "Yup, Tritri?" I asked.

"Two things. One, I've called Phoenix, and Angel and Ben are detained, and two, you're going to Phoenix, right?" I nodded. "Well, Molly needs to go there for them to be able to heal her. Since you're the only flight going there, you get to take her and…one of the med Blues." I nodded again, to show I understood.

"We're having technical issues with my plane, but Fang's trying to fix it."

Katrina nodded. "That's good. He's a technopath—that'll be fixed in no time."

"He got a new power?" I asked softly. "And I missed it?" Katrina pulled me over to one of the mechanic's benches, and we sat, her arm around me shoulder, like she was my mom.

"Yeah, hon'. All of 'em did, except for little Angel." She rubbed my arm comfortingly. "I was going to let them tell you, but I guess the cat's outta the bag. Fang's a technopath, Gazzy can morph, Nudge is an empath, but to a more minor extent than Ben, and Iggy's got this weird fire power. I dunno what the second flock has, but they've probably got opposite powers if you and Double—" She cut off before forging on. "But if you and Double were anything to go by, their powers are opposites of yours." Katrina hugged me, letting me know she understood.

Like me, she'd lost a sister. It wasn't well known, but fifteen years ago, she'd watched her best friend murder her twin sister. Poor Katrina was only twelve when she watched Lucy die. Luckily, her cousin, Marianna Janssen, who was ten years older, intervened and took Katrina and her then fourteen year old sister, Analisse, out of her father's care.

She understood what it was like to lose someone you were close to—only for me it was a bit worse. She'd been a part of me. If Molly and Dag were my right hand, then Double was my left.

I could live without her, but it would be hard.

"Di…if it doesn't bother you too much, could you tell the second flock that Double passed on?" I nodded slowly.

"I don't think I could, Katrina. They hate me." Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Iggy walking over to Fang, but I ignored him. "Glena…she's fallen out with them as much as Sasha did, so maybe…but she's the spitting image of Angel… same for Nique, Fang II, James, and Gar', they don't really like me…especially 'cause their leader was cloned from me. Why me, anyway? I don't even know where they are, Katrina. That's why this is kinda weird."

"They're at Phoenix. That's why I'm asking you. You're the only one I can trust them not to kill after telling them. They can handle seeing you."

"And you think I can handle seeing them? You think they can handle seeing me, the perfect image of their dead leader? Katrina, this is insane! I can't tell them that Sasha's dead! It would kill them. They'd die, like I tried to do, Katrina. Don't you think they'll feel guilty she's dead? I swore I'd protect her, and she's dead, Katrina, dead. Do you think I can handle this?" I yelled, and the hanger fell silent. I took deep breaths. "I know I'm being hypocritical right now. I know I left my Flock to suffer the same fate. But I left mine with a promise—I swore I'd see them again. Sasha can't offer anything like that. Because she's dead. Because I buried her—I dug her grave, carved her tombstone. I wrote her epitaph, Katrina, and I never gave them the chance."

Katrina tried to speak. "Di, this is totally different. I can ask someone else."

"No. No, it's not. I have to do this, but do you think they can handle someone who looks just like her telling them? This is their leader, their best friend, their sister, their mother, dying, after they tried to kill her, Katrina, and never apologized for it." A few gasps echoed in the still hangar. Everyone was frozen, hanging on my every word. "The last words her soul mate told her were, 'I hate you.' At least mine asked me a question. 'What?'" Fang took in a sharp breath. "They'll feel so guilty. Fang II already hates me. He couldn't understand why I left Double alive. He would have killed Fang, given the chance. But Double refused to let him kill Fang. So he hates me—because I supported her choice." I pushed away from Katrina.

"I swore I'd protect her, and I failed. You never wondered why I was so desperate to save her, why I wouldn't let anyone take her body away. It was so I could tell them I'd never left her side when she passed on, that I know for sure. I know that Angel, at least, met Glena. So Glena will remember, like Nique. They'll remember I've gone through as much as they have. But the boys…they won't understand. That's why I can't do this, and why I have to. They need to hear it from me, but if they hear it from me, all hell will break loose from at least three of them." I turned and left, leaving a shell-shocked company behind me.

Quickly, I found Dag. "Hey, Lewis, guess who's up?" I said jokingly, but his head snapped up and he glared at me.

"I swear, you lie, I _will_ find a way to kill you."

"Nope. She was up, as of twenty minutes ago. She could've relapsed. But if you wanna talk to her, now's your chance. We're taking her to Phoenix, and no, you cannot come." I informed him, denying his unspoken question.

Dag rolled his eyes at me, passed me the paperwork he was filling in, and vanished. I looked at the pen in my hand. "What do you want me to do with this?!" I yelled. I heard his laugh around the corner. He knows I hate this kind of stuff.

I put down the pen and followed Dag. I watched from the door as he sat on the edge of her bed, and she smiled at him.

They talked for a while, and I heard someone come up beside me and watch too, but I ignored them. Until they started to talk.

"We thought you loved us, Max." It was Iggy. Dag and Molly looked up, and their eyes grew a bit wider.

"_I_ thought I was protecting you. I thought it was worth it. Maybe I was wrong." I turned and began to walk away.

"Hey, bird-boy." Gira called as she walked up, and Iggy turned to face her. "You don't know what kind of sacrifices she's willing to make for her friends."

"Why? What do you know?"

"Enough to say, _back off_. She has her reasons, and she'll tell you them when she's ready."

I returned to my plane and found the fuel gauge in perfect working order. I guess Fang had fixed it.

Dag came up to the plane, carrying a very grumpy looking Molly, so I climbed out and gave him a hand putting her in the plane. She sat in the back, a bag on her lap.

"This better be worth it." She grumbled. "They had better be able to fix me." I grinned at her.

"Oh, they'll be able to. Remember, when that trainee got her hand ripped off by that NE? They sewed it right back on and it works as good as new! Until it froze off." I said cheerfully.

Molly glared at me. "You better have been joking, Diane."

"Why would I have been joking?" Molly giggled, despite herself. She knew there was no trainee with their hand ripped off—she would have been the one to go through the paperwork, because, heaven knows, put me anywhere near paperwork and it will get mutilated, shredded, destroyed and/or filled out illegibly.

One of the med-Blues arrived, and informed us that Fang was staying and that she was going, so we had better not be thinking of sneaking off without her, but she needed to go get her medical bag, and that she'd be back in no more than six minutes and thirty seconds, so park that plane and don't move a muscle and that if she found out we'd moved she wouldn't hesitate to shoot us.

She scared me, to be quite honest. Exactly six minutes and twenty nine seconds later she was sitting next to Molly yelling, "Go, go, go!"We taxied down the runway and took off.

The med-Blue, whose name I found out was BJ, short for Bethany Joyce, not Betty Jeanne, contrary to popular belief, really knew what she was doing. Whenever Molly tried to get up to pilot, BJ pretty much forced her down.

She was a LOT stronger than she looked, able to restrain an angry Molly. Personally, I was impressed. Eventually, BJ just stuck one of those tranquilizer needles in Molly's arm and she was out like a light.

Actually, no, not like a light. More like a kicking, screaming Molly with nothing to lose in a do or die fight to defend her honor.

Yeah, that's how Molly reacts to being tranquilized. When she realized what BJ had done, let's just say some Air Control people panicked, thinking we had been hijacked. We had fighter jets following us until I radioed them saying that Molly had just been tranquilized and that she didn't do so well with shots.

They just laughed and then flew away.

Once we got to Phoenix, we landed smoothly and then the Phoenixes took Molly away to fix her.

I went to find Angel and Ben. They were sitting glumly in the room assigned to them, and I shut the door after walking in.

"What in the universe possessed you to even think of trying such a stunt?!" I snapped when they looked up at me sheepishly.

"I...I dunno…It seemed like a good idea, Di." Angel whispered softly, staring at the floor.

"Do you know why I stopped you?" Both girls shook their heads no. "I watched in a vision as your plane crashed to the ground and killed both of you in a massive explosion that no one could have possibly survived. Do you know how many people would have been affected by this?" Again, two heads shook no. "You would have made Mal go suicidal, the Flock would have murdered me for letting you even try, Itex would use it in negative propaganda against us and you would have been very, very dead."

At least they had the decency to look properly ashamed.

I sat between them on the bed. "I'm not mad at you two." I pulled them into a tight hug, one on each side. "I dunno what I'd do without you two. Ustedes son mi Sol y luna." Angel smiled, but Ben looked confused. It was probably my awful Spanish. Gira tried to teach me and Molly Spanish. Key word: Tried. She epically failed. Ben on the other hand…Ben was acing it. "I don't know what I'd do without the two of you." They both hugged me, and laughed.

"We love you too, Di. We won't do it again, promise." I smiled at Ben.

"I know you won't, hon. I can see the future, remember?" Angel giggled too, but then seemed to realize she was mad at me and pulled away.

I opened my mind to her. No one else could get in, but she could, if she wanted to.

"Why?" Angel asked softly, when she realized I was inviting her to read my thoughts, see what I had known.

"Because. I care about you, and you deserve to know the truth. Whether your siblings will listen? I dunno. But at least one of you will know the truth." I stood and left, a shell-shocked Angel behind me.

**Whew. You have NO idea how hard that was to write.**

**Plus, the Spanish? I know my grammar is awful, but I have a four day weekend and don't feel like digging out my textbook. I also got chewed out for that by my BETA, so don't worry about me getting yelled at; it's already been done.**

**Speaking of my BETA, she's gotten the flu, and my little bro has gotten the swine flu. He's one of the people in supreme high risk of dying, but he's a strong little guy, so we're pretty sure he'll pull through.**

**Is anyone else doing Nanowrimo? I think I'm the only 13 year old attempting it...Since I'm trying to write a 50,000 word novel (that's about two, three chapters shorter than the whole of CL posted right now) I maybe a bit slow on updating CL...**

**And that's the story of my crazy, hectic life this week. How was yours?**

**Luna**


	26. Angel's Reaction: Hatred: A New Mission

**Sorry for the late update! I was working on my Nanowrimo and I didn't even notice I hadn't updated until one of my friends at school who reads this asked me why I didn't update, and then I had a full blow panic attack, and...yeah.

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Angel just stared as the door swung shut behind Di.

"What?" she whispered softly.

"Di did it again, didn't she?" Ben asked.

"Did what?"

"Dropped a major bomb on ya, huh? Hm, you'll get over it. She does stuff like that all the time. I mean, I heard that before she found me 'n' Mal, she let Dag stay, and Dag's an Eraser. And then she found me and Mal and all kinds of stuff. People don't understand her."

"I do." Angel found herself whispering. "I understand her." Ben just shrugged.

"Maybe you do, maybe you don't. But I can tell by her emotions that there was definitely someone she wishes who really understands." Angel's brow furrowed.

"How can you tell that?"

"Um, there's this really weird mix of envy, longing, love and a lot of…I dunno, anger, I guess. I mean, she's really mad that he doesn't understand."

Angel nodded. "Fang. She and him used to be like this." She raised her hand to show two crossed fingers. "But then everything happened and now he can't stand her at all."

The two girls sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Who's going to keep her?" Ben asked. "'Cause she can't stay with both of us. She can't be both Di and Max. If she gets you guys, she'll be Max, and she won't be Di, but if she's Di, then she won't get you guys." Another bit of silence, before Angel spoke.

"I think we can figure something out." And the wicked grin on her face confirmed that she had a plan.

.

Annoyed, I headed to Phoenix's rehabilitation center. They had a full martial arts room, and I was going to take my anger out on a couple of dummies.

No, not dumb humans, although I was sorely tempted to do just that, but those mannequins. Luckily, they had smaller, private training rooms, and I plugged my ipod into the speakers they had there. unfortunately, you had to clip on these sensors that measured your heartrate and breathing, blood pressure and that kind of thing, but that wasn't much to deal with.

There was this smaller observation room up top, but I ignored that and launched into my workout.

I had rock music playing, and I kicked and punched to the beats.

But the two I was listening to, on loop, were two songs by Skillet. Monster and Hero.

I slammed through the routine, decimating everything that I saw as an opponent. I stopped briefly to start another playlist.

It was my high-energy playlist, filled with songs that flooded your mind with drumbeats and power verses. I worked through the songs, a grim smile on my face.

This is what calmed me. I took out my anger and annoyance at everything to the beat of the music, hurling punches and throwing kicks to get through it.

Maybe an hour and a half later, I stopped. There were people watching me, shocked at the power with which I'd fought, shocked that I had barely broken a sweat. I saluted them, then sat and drank a bottle of water.

I selected a different playlist, Breather, and slowed down, regulating my breathing until I could hold my breath for thirty seconds and take only two deep breaths a minute. My heartrate slowed, and I knew the sensors I'd put on had slowed down to almost death. As the music sped up to a normal beat, I raised my pulse and breathing rate to my usual level. Then I stood and grabbed my ipod on the way out, dropping off the sensors when I left. After a quick shower and change, I went off to find the girls.

I found Ben and Angel, and we headed back to the regular base. They both curled up in the back, sleeping, while I flew. I silenced my radio, enjoying the quiet peppered with only tiny snores and gently breathing from the back.

When I landed, there were seven people waiting for me. Ben had stirred, and was watching them, but Angel still slept.

The people who stood there?

Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Ella, Gazzy, Mal and Gira.

I climbed down out of the plane and helped Ben out. I held her on my hip as I faced them.

"What do you need? I'm kinda busy." I told them firmly. I guess there was a sharp undertone in my voice, because Ella flinched.

"You're Max. You pretended to die and didn't." Iggy's voice was cold and bladed, slicing through the air, intentionally trying to hurt me. It did, but I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing how much it actually did hurt.

"I had reasons." It was so easy to keep my voice level, calm. It shouldn't be this easy.

"Then share them!" Ella cried, angrily. "You let me think my only sister was dead, and then you withheld information that I needed to know! Gira's my twin sister, the one I thought was dead!" I set Ben down, and she scampered off, probably to grab a snack.

I tried to speak. "I had reasons. And I didn't have—"

"We don't care. We don't trust you anymore, _Di_. If you couldn't tell your family the truth, then we don't have to trust you." Gazzy turned away. "I used to think of you like my mom, but what kind of mom doesn't even tell her family the truth?" He turned and walked away.

Mal glared at me. "I'm siding with Gaz on this one. Families tell the truth. They were your family, and you didn't tell them."

Iggy just snorted and turned away with them. Fang already wasn't talking to me, and Nudge just snorted. "I can't believe you wouldn't tell your own sister that her supposedly dead sister was alive. I can't believe you." Then she left, rolling her eyes.

Gira and Ella sent me identical twin glares before turning and following Fang, Iggy, Mal, and Gazzy. At least Angel was somewhat on my side. But no one else believed me.

"Don't worry, Di. I believe you." I turned at the small voice. It was Ben. She stood there, proud, and I could see she really did believe me..

"Thanks, honey. But why do you believe me when no one else does?" I asked.

Ben leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially in my ear. "I can tell when people are lying. You're totally honest."

I hugged her. "Aw, sweetie, why didn't you tell anyone?"

"'Cause I didn't want anyone to know. I didn't even tell Mal. It's funny when she lies to me. Her aura turns all orange. Like pumpkin orange!" I had to remember how young Ben was. She was only eight years old, and since she had to grow up so fast, little things fascinate her. She's like the opposite of us bird-kids were-she's small for her age and a bit less developed. Really, she looks and acts more like a normal six-almost-seven year old does.

"If it makes you feel better, Mal would have sided with you, 'cept she really, really likes Gazzy." Ben patted me on the head.

Katrina and Analisse arrived on the tarmac. "Guess the truth came out then, huh?" Analisse's voice was soft and gentle. She knew I was hurting, but I would refuse to show it.

"Yeah." I stood, and looked her in the eye. "I guess I should tell you why. I think you've figured most of it out, but you should hear it from me, not some other source. I can see the future, or at least, possibilities of the future. I saw that Base would be under attack and asked you to step in for me so I could return to Base and help fight. But something didn't go as planned--Fang followed me back. When I found out that it was Mart who had done this, I snapped. I shot at him, threw lightning at him, and basically tried to kill him. He escaped."

"Wow." Analisse whispered.

"I'm not finished. Fang…he didn't see Mart be the evil guy. He saw Mart as an innocent member of Blue Lightning who had a traitorous leader trying to murder them. He confronted me. Then, he realized I was Max, and basically told me he hated me. Then, Fang shot off, and I guess he told the Flock. All of them hate me, all because I wanted to protect them from something that would destroy them." I closed my eyes and sank down on the hot pavement. Ben sat next to me.

"I fought for what was right, and although I technically won, I still feel like I lost." A single tear dripped onto my cheek. I swiped it away angrily. I wouldn't cry for people who didn't want my tears. No, I wouldn't cry at all.

I shoved to my feet. "I can do this. I survived without them, I can survive without them now." Only then, I had Mart, Molly and Dag to help me. Now, I only had Gira, and Gira wasn't much help, seeing as she really, really missed Mart.

I walked down the hall, Juju and Ben trotting behind me.

"Guys, I'm going to the South America Base, and I don't think you'll want to come with me. There may be a fight, but I have to double check to make sure that they're all out. Then, I get to demolish."

Juju grinned. "Then I'm coming with." Ben shook her head.

"I don't think you'd want me to come. I'd just get in the way."

"No, you wouldn't, Ben, you can come if you want!" Ben stepped back.

"I'll stay with Gira." I hugged her.

"Be safe, kiddo. We'll be back soon. Go tell Gira." Juju and I hurried down the halls, prepping for the trip, while Analisse and Katrina arranged for a twenty-seater plane to be ready for takeoff in less than an hour. Juju and I split up; her to the flight office to file the flight plan, and me to the weapons room to get new ammo, and all the explosives I needed.

Juju arrived in the room and grabbed winter gear as well as emergency supplies. A red and a med-blue would come with us.

Two hours later, we were in the air.

Hopefully, hopefully, we wouldn't be attacked.

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**Oops, did I foreshadow something? Whoopsie!**

**This will be very random, but does anyone here ship Draco/Ginny in Harry Potter?**

**ALSO! I am the first person to think of Dylla. I am going to write a one-shot Dylla pairing, and...yeah.**

**Sorry about the slow update!**

**Luna**


	27. Technical Difficulties

Hey, guys, it's me, Luna. I feel really, really, really (insert multiple really's in here) bad about this, but I have to.

I'm going on hiatus, for a short while. I'll be out and about, here, still, but the problem is I've been working on CL for months, now, and I've hit a very large wall of writers block.

*cringes in horror of what reviewers will do to her*

I do have a chapter written; if I so chose to post it you would come after me with pitchforks and orange teddy-bears of doom, as I kill off several key characters and have no explanation whatsoever for it; later they somehow come back to life and a final battle commences where they all die again anyway, before Di turns into an emotional mess who never stops crying and then kills Fang because he couldn't bring Ben back to life.

As this is NOT, I repeat, NOT what I intend to do with this story, I feel I need to take a break and try to a) mend the damage I have inflicted on CL and b) bleach my eyeballs from my grammatical and spelling mistakes in the pseudo-chapter that really doesn't even deserve a mention in here.

I WILL be back, mark my words, and I WILL post again before December 1st, you have my word on that (if I don't, I would advise you to start annoying me until I do update, although I am very sure Etta, my BETA, will do that), and in the meantime, I will ATTEMPT to catch up on my other stories.

I'm sorry for getting you all excited about a new chapter and then getting this AN (it will be deleted when I update again), but I really do need to fix my problems (unless you WANT Di and Juju to die, in which case you really shouldn't be reading this story, but instead picking through someone else's fic, because if I stick THAT in HERE, I will be buried in hate-mail)…

I hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE doing this to you, and I HATE putting CL on break, but I really do have to.

Alright, I think that's about it. Feel free to yell at me; I deserve it for doing this to you all. I won't be offended. If it makes you feel better, I had my little brother give me a lecture and throw toothpicks at me.

Luna (and Etta, although she has no clue I'm going on hiatus and will probably murder me as soon as she sees this AN, since she thinks I'm posting the crap chapter)


	28. A Canary Named Steve: The Room of Sorrow

**Okay, you're all going to kill me, but…let's hold off on murder for the next five or so minutes.**

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**Okay, I'm supposed to have an epic rescue scene right here.**

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**Obviously, it didn't work out.**

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**All versions of it that I came up with ended in Juju dying, Di dying, Mart dying, Molly dying (even though she wasn't even there, and I'm still trying to figure out how she teleported from Base to Southern South America, since it was a bit awkward…), Katrina dying (don't ask how that one played out, it was downright scary—think dead puppies, a bloodbath, and a canary named Steve), Ben dying, Mal dying, or any of the above dying, including the Current Base exploding in a massive fireball, ending the lives of everyone there, including the flock, and ending the story completely. Believe me, it was a gruesome mass of carnage. My eyes may never recover from the destruction that was the beginning of Chapter 28.**

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**Alternate Versions of said scene ended up with Juju being mutilated and Di sacrificing herself to save the live(s) of Juju (in one version, she died, came back to life and died another five times after mysteriously coming back to life, which should have been impossible because her brains were blown out) or some random character popping up out of (literally) nowhere.**

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**Since I'm pretty sure that I would be murdered by rusty sporks and/or peanut butter pandas of doom if I posted versions 8, 12, 5, 1, 10, 3, 11, 9, 6, 4, 7 or 2, I would be murdered. The other versions were not much better. Believe me, you don't want your eyes to be burned in such a way.**

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**Since you're all so awesomely terrific, I'm going to let you all imagine the scene. A shattered Base, six kids, under the age of eleven, one infant, a LOT of dead bodies, an ambush (that didn't succeed, mind you), and a very nearly killed Juju… along with several plot holes that you can ignore or go along with. Not much from what happens here is crucial, other than one kid dies (a six year old), Di gets very ticked off, and Juju manages to bite someone's head off…literally…after being threatened with a wooden stick. I'll come back and write a version of it.**

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**Unless you want me to write it now and delay your update infinitely. I'll let you awesome readers know when I put up this scene, 'cause I'm NOT asking for help. This is MY story and so help me God, I will write the rest of it myself.**

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**Okay, so. Our new scene rolls in twenty-nine hours past Juju and Di's departure for Old Base. Enter key characters, Angel and Ben.**

**Begin. **

Angel sock-slid down the corridor, giggling. When she reached the end of the hall, she grabbed the door and held on tight, trying to regain her balance. Ben slid up next to her, and she fell on the floor laughing. When her laughter subsided, Angel plopped herself down next to Ben. They sat there, silent for a second, when an eerie voice drifted through the air, a voice singing a tune that had a terrible grace to it. Soft piano music accompanied the strange voice, and Angel pressed her ear to the door and tried to cast her mind out to find the person.

"It's beautiful," Ben sighed, before realizing there were no words. Then, the singer broke down in tears. The piano tinkled with a small crash, probably as the singer dropped their head on the keys. Ben tried the handle, but it wouldn't open.

"Who is it?" she asked, but Angel shrugged.

"I don't recognize the mind. And they're exceptionally well blocked, so I can't read to find out." Angel sighed. "I've never been in this person's mind, and they have blocks to rival Max's."

Ben tipped her head and studied the door. "Well, we're not going to find out just sitting here." She hurled her emotions sensitivity out and found regret, love, and pain, as well as a sharp spiking anger. "Ouch. That hurts." Angel glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes, and Ben opened her mind.

They established a mental link and concentrated on who was inside. A sudden push of energy shoved them back and both felt the impact of a person in strong control of their emotions and mind. Angel gasped, and Ben rubbed her eyes.

Gira rounded the corner and grabbed both of them by the ears. "What do you think you're doing?" she hissed, dragging them away. "That's the Room of Sorrows, idiots, you don't bug anyone in there."

"The what?" Ben asked, trying to keep up with Gira and not have her ear pulled anymore than it was.

"The Room of Sorrows. It's the technical name. Usually, we call it the DCR, Dry Cry Room, since everyone who goes in there bawls until they can't cry anymore and just dry cry, hence the DC part of the name." Then she muttered something in Spanish, which Angel just missed catching. Ben blinked and tipped her head, curious at the meaning of Gira's words.

"You never heard that." Gira glared pointedly at Ben. "If Di caught you saying those words, let's just say the world would implode, we all would be dead, and then she would resurrect the lot of us and murder us very, very dead. Even you, Angel."

Angel must still have looked confused, since Ben whispered, "She said, God knows I've spent enough beep time in that beep room over the beep last three beep weeks. And then she added a whole LOT of cuss words I didn't know about. I think she was wondering what our parents were."

"That's not very nice. My mommy was a nice lady, I think. And yours must've been nice too, since you're nice. How bad was the first beep? Like on a scale of one to ten, ten being really bad, one being like crud."

"Um, a six. The later ones were probably tens, I dunno." Angel double taked at Gira's expression.

"I never thought I'd hear two nine year olds discussing cuss words…" Gira trailed off as Di slammed into the room, followed by Juju. Energy was crackling through her hair and small strikes of lightning wove around her hands. Juju was clearly just as enraged, although sparks of blue energy weren't surrounding her.

"Um, Di, you okay?" Gira asked skeptically, since Di was practically steaming at out of her ears and was clearly fuming.

"No, I'm freaking well not. It was an ambush." At this, Juju snorted.

"Ambush? Try a really lame attempt at killing us that didn't work out due to Di's energy." Juju rolled her eyes. "But then it was the loss of one of the Lightning Homers that really killed Di. I can't believe they would murder an four year old, I mean, God!" Juju referred to the Lightning Homers, the children of deceased Xeti members who had nowhere else to go. There were maybe fifteen of them total, but the fifteen of them—nine boys and six girls—spanned the age gap of infancy to age eleven. While Di didn't know them very well, she cared for them as innocents, and Ben, Mal and Juju considered all of them friends.

At this, Di sparked more and scorched the floor. Gira backed away quickly, tugging Ben and Angel with her.

"Whoa, Di, calm down." She ordered, although it seemed to be a futile effort.

"I am calm!" Di snapped, half-shouting. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I am calm," she said tightly, trying to control her anger. "I am just not in a good mood." Very, very slowly, the blue energy drained and fluidly formed a large, watermelon sized sphere of liquid energy.

"Really? 'Cause you sure look ticked to me…" Ben sang. Di glared, and dipped her hand in the liquid energy.

"Need I spell it out? I…AM…CALM…" She wrote in the air with the blue, creating smears of letters that after being read flowed back into the sphere.

Gira sighed. "Do we have to do an ES?"

"NO." Di yelled vehemently.

"You're acting like we do…"

"I am NOT doing an ES. ESes take hours. ESes are NOT fitting into my schedule. I'm plotting revenge, and an ES will severely hamper what little time I have to inculpate everyone as I do not plan to exculpate ANYONE this week."

A stunned silence followed. "Inculpate? Exculpate?"

"Inculpate, verb, to blame, to press charges, example, the judge inculpated the criminal, synonyms are arraign and indict. Antonyms are vindicate, exonerate, absolve and aquit. Exculpate, verb, to free from blame, example, the convict was exculpated by a jury, synonyms are vindicate, exonerate, absolve and aquit, antonyms are arraign, indict and inculpate." Another stunned silence.

"Word of the day?"

"Yeah. August 25th." Gira rolled her eyes.

"So who are you planning on 'inculpating', this week?" she asked, using air quotes around inculpating.

"You know who!" Di snapped, forgetting her claims of calmness.

"And now we're back to needing an ES. And you're not getting out of it, because I happen to know you have no plans scheduled for one-forty-two tomorrow morning." Di groaned, knowing very well that half of Lightning would be up at 1:42 the next morning, watching their fearless leader make a fool of herself.

"And if you back out, I have plenty of blackmail material on you." Gira pointed out. Di rolled her eyes and left the room, Juju trailing not far behind.

Angel looked at Ben. "Do I want to know?" They burst out laughing.

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An alarm went off somewhere in the room, and then the overhead lights were flicked on and Gira was rolling me out of my warm bed and plunking me on the freezing floor, before dropping herself down next to me. Then Juju came in, followed by a sleepy Ben and Angel. Mal pushed in behind them and sat across from me. Gira set a up a wireless link so Molly was up on a laptop screen across from us. Next, she dropped my ipod in the center of the room.

"Okay. Juju, Mal, you two know the rules. Ben, Angel, you get to sit out, since you can't officially do it until you're eleven. That's when we let Mal and Juju play." Gira clapped her hands once.

"Molls, Dini, Gira, Mal, ya'll ready?" Juju asked, grinning ear to ear. I nodded once, as did Gira and J"'Kay. Ben, count to five."

"One, two, three, four, five." Ben rattled off quickly.

"Slower."

"One…Two…Three…Four…Five!" She spoke slower this time.

"Not it!" I called.

"Not me!" Molly hit the second phrase correctly, leaving a spulttering

"Not it!" Gira spoke the final two words while Juju tried to remember the next pair.

"Gah! I'm first." She hit shuffle on my ipod, and So Bring It On, by the Cheetah Girls popped up. She rolled her eyes, before singing it acapella, hitting each of the notes, although she messed up the lyrics pretty badly.

"Di's next." She hummed a bit, and I rolled my eyes, mirroring her. I was to her left, so it was my turn. I scrolled through the songs in my head, before picking Human, also by the Cheetah Girls. How our ESes worked was we had a starting song, and you went around the circle counter-clockwise, each person singing a song, until someone dropped out. The catch was each song had to link somehow to the song before it. If you got stuck and couldn't find one, you could either sing a shuffle song, which was normally pretty bad, and then they'd have to drop out, or you could put some money in the middle. The last person standing got the money in the middle and the prize of being the one with the most musical knowledge.

We did it to unwind, but that's not the only reason. We'd figured out that people had a tendancy to choose songs that fit with their lives at that moment, whether romantic, stressful, or otherwise. It was how we'd figured out Molly's crush on Dag, or Gira's indesicion whether she liked Mart or Ricky (she'd had a crush on him before).

When I sang Human, Gira and Juju sang harmony, since it was acapella. Mal caught on and added her voice, while Molly kept silent. She was doing this over an internet connection, so it was harder for her to harmonize. When I finished, I pointed at Gira.

"You next." She closed her eyes and hummed a tune, thinking. She picked up my ipod and found a karaoke version of Haunted, by Kelly Clarkson. She sang along, her fluted voice harmonizing with the music.

We hugged her while Molly went. She chose Trainwreck, by Demi Lovato. It didn't surprise any of us that she chose it, since every time the topic of love came up, that was the song she'd sing and/or hum. Juju shook her head and tossed a quarter in the middle.

I went next, with Ignorance, by Paramore. This song really summed up most of my feelings towards my love life, right now. I used the music to accompany me because it really wasn't an acapella song, at all.

"If I'm a bad person, you don't like me. Well, I guess I'll make my own way. It's a circle, a mean cycle. I can't excite you anymore. Where's your gavel? Your jury? What's my offense this time? You're not a judge, but if you're gonna judge me, well, sentence me to another life!"

Angel's jaw dropped before I closed my eyes and sang the first chorus.

"Don't wanna hear your sad songs, I don't wanna feel your pain, when you swear it's all my fault, 'cause you know we're not the same, oh we're not the same. Yeah, the friends who stick together, we wrote our names in blood, but I guess you can't accept that the change is good, it's good, it's good. Well, you treat me just like another stranger. Well it's nice to meet you, sir, I guess I'll go, I best be on my way out. You treat me just like another stranger, well it's nice to meet you sir, I guess I'll go, I best be on my way out. Ignorance is your new best friend, ignorance is your best friend."

The second verse added more to the shock factor flooding the room, but I didn't care. "It's the best thing that could have happened, any longer and I wouldn't have made it. It's not a war, no, it's not a rapture, I'm just a person, but you can't take it. The same tricks that once fooled me, they won't get you anywhere. I'm not the same kid from your memory, well, now I can fend for myself." I sang the chorus again, and repeated the second half of it, before the music thundered to a stop as I sang the last word.

When I opened my eyes again, Angel's were bugging out at me, while her jaw graced the floor, Molly was hurriedly dashing tears off her cheeks, Gira hugged me, and Ben, Mal and Juju simply rolled their eyes. They'd heard me sing along to this one.

"Aw, Di." Gira hugged. "I didn't know."

The next music was starting, and Juju and I both sang along. I jumped up and pulled Juju up. Music was my way of expressing myself, like photography. We danced along as we sang, and soon, Gira, Ben and Angel were dancing too. Then we (we being Gira and me) sent the younger girls back to bed, and went to sleep ourselves. Or at least, Gira did. I dressed and worked on stuff in my office, until about five that morning, when I crashed in bed for about an hour before rolling up and waking everyone.

We all went about our routines, and I decided today we would do physical fighting tests on everyone. I called every blue and green lightning off duty to the training courts and set up a schedule. I tested the first few people, but since it was hot out, I realized that a long-sleeved shirt and jeans were definitely not the best choice.

I changed into a tank-top and gym shorts, and went back to testing after strapping my customary left arm brace on. I had a right arm brace, but unless I was actively fighting or firing a gun, I never wore it. I found it harder to move, although my left arm was fine with a brace on. I mostly wore it to hide the scar from when I tried to cut open my arm, three, four years back.

That normally wouldn't have been a mistake. What happened to make it so? I was testing Angel. Oh, and I happened to have dozens, maybe hundreds of scars running up and down my arms and legs, a lot more than I'd had back in the E-house.

And none of them were battle-scars.

Not a single one.

What do you think her first reaction was?

If you guessed a) shock, or b) rage, you'd win a prize.

Angel freaked.

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**Okay, there you go. It seems my writers block extended only to that one scene (hence the Canary named Steve, and the current chapter title), and other than that, we should be able to get moving.**

**Has anyone read the Vampire Academy books? I've read three and two, in that order. Is one, five or four any good, 'cause that's the order I'm reading them in, now.**

**So...I await your attempts at murdering me...how about...the most creative death threat gets a mention next chapter! IT's the least I can do since I made you wait so long.**

**Luna**


	29. Cutting: Hostage Situation: Oh, Demonios

**FIRST OFF, and DO NOT IGNORE THIS! I want to apologize for the lame chapter you saw last. I know it wasn't up to par, but this is the way I work. After writer's block, I either write something epically brilliant, or something lame that leads to something more.**

**In this case, it was something lame. But it led to this, which…sadly, will PROBABLY be one of the last five/eight chapters.**

**PROBABLY. I don't know for sure. I want to thank several of you for your motivating messages, and YourMoosyFate, in particular. I know this is my story, and I should do it when I'm ready, but, to be honest with you, if I did that, CL would still be at Chapter 6. So, a lot of CL is because of YOU, the readers and reviewers.**

**I really apologize for the spasmodic chapters and seemingly jumpy plot…(I never resolved the whole Sun in the Maze thing, did I? Oh, well, next chapter…)**

**And also, I was deterred by a VERY annoying thing…How many of you would say Juju was a Mary Sue? I put her through the Mary-Sue Litmus test and it informed me that her, Molly, Gira AND Maximum Ride were solid Mary Sues. Hence the reason for my depressingness and the slowness of this chapter.**

**Okay. Moving on. I had some awesome threats (I loved yours, a friend ()…), but I would like to point out I can't use any of them. I'm sorry. But wouldn't it be weird if this super villain threatened to murder…well, you'll see…with a magical Chinese speaking unicorn? It would just be awkward.**

**So, I'm sorry, but…well, you'll see by the end of the chapter.**

**Next chapter is Chapter 30! That means a list of all reviewers, so if you want in the hall of fame (20 or more), I'd get reviewing!**

**Love (in the like friends way, I've already been creeped out by three different guys today…I think that was a group dare, since they're all my good friends…unfortunately), Luna**

**.**

Angel gaped at Max. Her forearms had long, thin scars winding around them, her legs had smaller, more even lines slashing across them.

Angel knew they weren't there when they saved the world, knew that Max had never had them before she tried to kill herself.

The worst part was she didn't even try to hide them, just hooked on her right arm-brace and started the evaluation.

"All right. You did pretty good for your capabilities, Miss Rise, but your snap kicks need to be higher," she informed her, demonstrating. "And you're definitely not blocking well enough." She pulled off the right brace and hooked it through her belt loop. "You might not have had to fight for the past three years, but that's going to change pretty fast, honey. You did a good job on Pretoria, but we're going to need you to step it up. Now, try this." Max unfurled her wings and leapt up in the air, using her wings to propel her higher, while she turned a somersault and snapped her wings in before landing, feet first, in a crouch that cracked the ground.

"It's really great for smashing in NTs heads, so don't bash it before you try it. I want to see you be able to do three of those by next evaluation. That's anywhere from three days to a week and a half, so I'd get started. Practice courts are over there." She pointed over to a block of rooms, and Angel nodded, still a bit in shock of the scars.

Max sighed and yelled, "NEXT!"

.

"I'm next." A familiar voice informed me later that evening. I ignored them and kept cleaning up. He tapped my shoulder. I was honestly surprised that the scars didn't make him back away. Really, they were nothing to be scared about—when I jumped, I got beaten up pretty badly. It's not just my arms or anything, it's also my torso and the rest of my body. It's to be expected, really. I mean, you can't free-fall four hundred feet and come out in one piece with no cuts. It's logic.

But that's only some of them. Like I said, none of them are battle wounds. I always wear my guards. The rest of them…I put there myself.

Yeah, I cut myself. But it's the only way I can deal. I don't cry a lot, or at least, I didn't, before the Flock came back. It was a way to release feelings. I haven't done it in a month and a half, but…I dunno. Maybe I'll start again. Maybe it'll help. I know someone will try psycho-analyzing me, but…it's just…I think I do it because I want to see who actually cares enough about me to make me stop.

Molly is in denial, and she refuses to believe I really do it. Mal did it, too, but she stopped, for Ben's sake. Ben doesn't know; nor do the Flock. Juju thinks it's normal, to have two of her sisters cutting herself. Gira pretends she just doesn't notice, although I see her sneaking worried glances. Katrina has no clue—I hid it too well. Dag shows sympathy and tries to help, but he hasn't made me stop, not yet.

Back to, whoever.

"I'm next, aren't you going to test me?" I turned and faced them.

"I would if there was someone on the schedule, which there isn't." I informed them and picked up the checklist. "Last person of the day was Samuel Larson, who just went. You are not on the list, Mr. Nicholson. I'd advise leaving."

"So you don't have time to test someone else?"

"Fang, give it up. You're not going to get a reaction from me. Vanish." I hung up the clipboard and pulled off my right armguard, and hooked it through my belt loop again. My left one stayed on, like always. He stayed there, so I sighed and continued cleaning up. I had to wipe blood off the mat, since someone wasn't wearing their mouth guard during martial arts, and thusly, failed this course.

I finished up and he was still there. I turned to him, after rolling my eyes.

"Do you need something, Mr. Nicholson?" I asked, calmly, and he nodded. "Are you intending to inform me of what you need, Mr. Nicholson?"

"Yeah. Test me."

"Mr. Nicholson, testing is closed for the day. Please return to your dorm, before I defenestrate you. You have fifteen seconds before you are punished with kitchen duty." I informed him calmly. His eyes went wide and he left quickly.

I rolled my eyes at his impertinence, before heading off to my office. I could knock off a couple hours of paperwork before midnight. And I could get a full five hours of sleep before I was expected up, a whole hour more than I usually got.

I got through two weeks in this manner, running Lightning the way it needed to be run, treating the Flock like any other trainees. Everyone relaxed a bit, forgetting that I was planning a final attack.

That was their first mistake.

.

I wound my gloved fingers around the fire escape and hooked on a carabiner, before climbing up higher and working my way up the building.

I was working my way up a hundred and five story building, using a rope, carabiners, my grippy shoes and gloves, with a bottle of water dangling from a belt loop and an energy bar tucked in my back pocket.

Somehow, climbing relieved the need to fly. Maybe it was the supreme adrenaline rush, or the height. But whatever reason, this was one of my favorite things to do. High speed winds whipped around the building, and my fingers slid a bit. Reflexively, I slammed my right hand into a crack and my left one tighter around the fire escape. I pushed my body closer to the wall and kept climbing, determined.

I wasn't going to fall, not now, not ever. I had a perfect record—just not when I'd gotten this high. Never fallen, but never gotten to the top.

It started to rain, water plastering my hair to my forehead and the back of my neck, but also making the wall slick and hard to grip. I put my foot on a rusty service rung, but it cracked and I very nearly lost my footing.

Finally, finally, I reached the top, and swung over the edge. About fifty NEs stood there, and I rolled my eyes.

"END SIMULATOR!" I yelled, but the simulator stayed on. I rolled my eyes and launched into the attack.

Guess what?

Di the eternally prepared died. Within five freaking seconds. NORMALLY, in a sim, when you die, it drops you back into reality. Not this time. I came back to life and I was stuck fighting the NEs and dying.

This was annoying, because, a) I might be Di the wonderful (no comments on my ego, please), even I can't get fifty NEs down alone. I can barely take two, much less fifty, and b) THE SIM WOULDN'T FREAKING SHUT OFF!

This was why I was sitting on top of a roof, repeatedly getting shot by half-wolves with machine guns. I don't think real guns can slice off a pony tail like that. And also, MY HEAD IS ATTACHED TO MY BODY RIGHT NOW, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

So after about a million times of it, I got fed up and yelled, "END SIMULATOR," at the top of my lungs, over and over (still dying spasmodically) until the whole thing FINALLY shut down.

I yanked the virtu-helmet off and dropped the gloves on the table.

"WHO DESIGNED THIS SIM?" I shouted, and Molly, who was sitting across from me taking notes, rolled her eyes at me and flipped through her notes.

"Um, Mart did."

"He put a freaking army of NEs at the top of the building. There were like fifty, and that's beyond abnormal."

"What, the NEs?"

"No, the army. Everyone knows those NEs can't work together in groups of more than five. They have authority problems…I'm SO glad Dag doesn't have those issues." Molly giggled.

"Yeah…"

"You've got him whipped, don't you?" I snickered when she blushed. "Oh, come off it, Molls, everyone knows it, even the newbies." I unhooked my water bottle and took a long drink. Gira came in, waving paperwork in the air, but she jumped right in when she heard our topic.

"One of 'em actually asked me, 'Where's Mrs. Lewis?' last week. I still think you two should go for it." Molly had told me and Gira the week before that Dag had asked her out, and she'd hesitantly agreed. Gira was banking in on this to tease Molly.

"Mrs. Lewis?! Seriously?!" She yelped, and I laughed. "Why would they…Oh." She turned a beet red color, and with her hair, it was just too much. I burst out laughing, and Gir' and Molls laughed with me.

People think we're really serious and only vent with singing. But what they don't get is we're fifteen, eighteen and twenty-two respectively. We're not exactly…normal, but we act our age a lot. Of course, we all have our respective problems—I cut myself, Gira is on mediation for depression, 'cause if she didn't, she'd be pretty suicidal, and Molly has a pretty messed up past—but that doesn't stop us from being kids.

"You have to admit it's pretty cute, Molls. Molly Lewis…It's sweet!" Gira sang, opening a folder and pulling out paperwork to fill it out.

Molly and Gira chatted while I tackled another sim. It's a lot of fun, but training too. Since someone told Katrina I had recently had suicidal tendencies, I was banned from field missions. Right now, Dag and Ricky were both off with teams three, six and eight on a high-profile mission and Gira was heading out tomorrow. I think she was finishing up the paperwork for that right now.

Molly was still on probation because of her injuries—while she may technically be healed and can walk and doesn't need casts and stuff, her bones and ex-injured areas are still sensitive, so she shouldn't do anything particularly physical until it can be approved. But once it does, she claims she's heading out on a mission.

I'm not going to let her, because then I would drown in paperwork, and quite frankly, me plus a lot of paperwork equals damaged paperwork. Usually accidentally shredded, had volatile chemicals spilled on it, someone set it on fire, it's eaten by a platypus (don't ask about his one. Please. It wasn't pretty, at all, and I'm still trying to figure out what Dag was even DOING with a platypus), or someone does something completely out of the blue to it that ends up with MORE paperwork needing to be filled out.

Let's just go with it's not pretty. At All.

I worked through a tactical sim, but once I finished it, my vid link beeped.

I pulled the flat blue panel from the holster on my hip and answered. Analisse was on the other end, grim as could be.

"Di. We've got a ransom message. Line three. They won't deal with anyone but you." I nodded and turned to Gira and Molly.

"We've got a ransom problem. I might need some tactical help, though. Up for it?" They nodded, the cheer suddenly vanished from their faces.

I ran through the Base, before reaching the conference room. I picked up the phone, while Gira and Molly put on the listening headphones. They could hear them, but they couldn't hear Molly and Gira.

"This is Diane Mumixam speaking."

"Ah. Good afternoon, Miss Mumixam. I'm sure you know who I am." Damn. Damn. There are a lot more words that flashed through my mind, but if I said them…let's just say they weren't words that could go on network television. Gira and Molly were a similar mindset, since they swore simultaneously in Spanish and Gaelic, respectively.

"Demonios," Gira swore.

"Cuir mallact!" Molly muttered. And then she proceeded to say several words I don't think I would approve of if I knew what they meant. Gira muttered a few things I didn't understand in Spanish, so I'm guessing they were both as upset about this as me.

Vaulder. Bloody Freaking Vaulder.

And he was calling me over a ransom demand.

How much worse could this get?

"And I have your…Ricky Baker hostage…And one of my Super-Erasers by the name of…Dagger Lewis, is that correct? And there's a girl here…small, black haired, big green eyes…I think you know her, and I have to say, she's quite a sweetheart. Say hello to the people, miss, or we shoot you."

"Hi, Di…" Ben whimpered.

I'm going to quote Molly here with a "damn".

**.**

** Remember, Hall of Famers are 20+!**

** Luna**

**Oops. Almost forgot. Bex & Marie & Izzy (btw, could you enable your messaging feature? It would be nice to reply to your reviews via PM, if that's possible), I would like to point out that Scott would not bother me at all. Not after Nick F's (name has been changed) impressive performance in my pre-AP WH class. He's this silent, tall, pale skinned guy with black hair who always wore dark greys and blues and blacks, and he rarely ever talks to anyone, EVER. He's on the wrestling team, I think. But anyway, one day he came into class, and halfway through Mr. T's lecture on the Meso-American culture, he stood on his chair, yanked off his shirt and jeans (yes, it WAS as awkward as you imagine), and began dancing around in a mini, miniskirt, heels, and a sequined Jonas Brother's tee-shirt, with heels that were, I kid you not, six inches tall.**

** Not to mention the wig. The sparkly, blue, shiny wig. And the giant sunglasses. And he was singing freaking Barney songs, after he exhausted his supply of Hannah Montana and, I kid you not, Barbie Girl.**

** Mr. T fainted. And yes, we're talking about the guy who went to the bathroom, was hit pretty hard on the head, got knocked unconscious, has dents in his head from hitting the floor, and was found by an unsuspecting freshman guy, was rushed to the hospital and was in the ICU with a concussion, severe blood loss, and dehydration, yet managed to come to school the next day with his head in bandages, and taught the class.**

** I am NOT kidding you. **

** So, now, I've held you up enough. Bye!**


	30. 30! Hostage Situation: Tradeoff: Gunshot

**Chapter thirty…this will be a LOONG chapter, and not neccesarily a long filler chapter… I'm going to give you a list of reviewers and how many times, plus the hall of famers, and thirty facts from CLs behind the scenes, deleted scenes, and songs I think need fit in with the characters, along with their inspiration.**

**I was planning this for 25, but it totally slipped my mind.**

**1. Gira was originally Mart's younger sister, named Maddy/Nancy and had blonde hair with blue eyes. (E, this was in the drafts before MDOA)**

**2. Molly is the only character who has stayed one hundred percent the same (personality and looks, wise), from start to finish, although her job did change as we shifted from science to Lightning.**

**3. Dag was supposed to be a human archeologist named Tommy…that went out the window fast!**

**4. Katrina was supposed to be assassinated in MDOA.**

**5. Juju was originally named Samantha, then Tonya and finally Jessica, before I settled on Juju. (Also in drafts pre-CL, but post-MDOA)**

**6. Juju is named after my mom's best friend's daughter—she even looks similar as well, although the Juju I know in real life would never dream of fighting—she's a ten-year-old pacifist. (Inspiration hit one Sunday at Church, when I saw her chasing her brother, yelling for her donut (another don't-ask-moment) and tackled him, screaming, "I am Juju the awesome, now gimmemyedohnuttie!!")**

**7. Gira hit the chopping block six different times—Maddy Wilcox, Nancy Wilcox, Ellie Brown, Sara Yankanovich, Skye Anderson and Ally Miller—before we reached Girasol de los Reyes (literally, Sunflower of the Kings). She was the second character to be completed. (Yes, E, these were pre MDOA)**

**8. Mart was supposed to die by a giant turkey in one of my pseudo versions. You don't want to ask how that came out. (He got eaten by the turkey, digested, pooped out, and then recreated to come back as a monster. I think it was the meds that got to me…)**

**9. Mal is one of the most fun ever characters to write for SB:MT, and I'll give you a sneak peek…someday.**

**10. Ben's full name is Benevolence Violence Zeta-Rho, while Mal is stuck with Malevolence Grace Zeta-Rho.**

**11. There's a whole tragic back-story to Ben and Mal, and if I told you it now, this chapter would be so long no one would finish it within one day.**

**12. Ben has never killed anyone, but Mal DOES has a license to kill and, believe me, it's very well used. VERY well used.**

**13. There are five solid requirements to be in Lightning. The others are more flexible.**

** a. You're older than fourteen.**

** b. You have a valid license to kill and you're willing to use it if necessary. (This is excused for exactly four people. Ben, Katrina (and she has one that's currently expired…she's applying for a renewal), Angel and Gazzy. Oh, and Iggy, but his has been confiscated)**

** c. You have to have no family members/significant others who would sue Lightning if you died. This is because there were several very nasty lawsuits that ended in disaster (Xeti traitors, much?) and/or custody battles.**

** d. You can't have kids unless you have a place for them to go (and no, Lightning Home does NOT count. You need legal guardians, surviving family members, godparents, etc…)**

** e. You need a reason to want to take down Itex, and it needs to be a good one. No needless heroics. We REALLY don't need a lawsuit on top of the frontlines.**

**14. Everyone in Lightning has a license to kill (unless it's been confiscated by Di/Gira/Molly/Ricky/Katrina), unless you're younger than fourteen, and there are two special cases. Mal and Juju. So, yes, Juju has a license to kill. Like Mal, she's used it.**

**15. By the tender age of one and a half, Mal's first words were to cuss out a whitecoat. As a reward, they gave her Ben to take care of, two years later.**

**16. Dag really **_**does**_** have a platypus living in his office, and no, no one actually knows why. He won't tell anyone.**

**17. Molly knew how to drive and hotwire a car by the age of six.**

**18. Gira had killed three family members by the age of eight. She didn't have a license to kill at this point, so that leads us to…**

**19. Gira has been in juvie, but her family broke her out and changed her name. (By the way, if anyone looks for a Juanita Lopez, tell them she's on the loose in Mexico City, then pack a bag and head for the border. If you don't, Gira will kill you)**

**20. Everyone in Lightning masks their natural accents. If they didn't, Gira would speak Chicano and Spanglish, while Molly's words would carry a heavy Irish brogue.**

**21. Di can't communicate with anyone in ANY language other than English…**

**22. …although she can swear in fifteen different languages…**

**23. While Gira speaks Spanish, English and a bit of Chinese (don't ask why…I don't actually know… 0_o)… Molly is fluent in English and French, as well as many, many, many Gaelic swear words. She's taking Rosetta Stone Gaelic and German classes.**

**24. Mart was never intended to be the traitor; that was going to be Molly. Didn't work out, not so much. I like Molly too much to do that to her.**

**25. SOMEONE will die. I can't say who, but SOMEONE will die.**

**26. Chocolate chip cookies, whipped cream and pink sprinkles are banned from Lightning as cited in Lightning regulation six, division nine, paragraph four, line seventeen.**

**27. You would not BELIEVE the sheer amount of paperwork they have to do to get anything done (did you know you can requestion a real garbage truck? It's an eighty-nine page form though.)**

**28. Lightning has a theme song—Frontline, by Pillar. Di's got one too—Unbreakable, by Fireflight. Each of the characters have a theme song…want them? PM me…**

**29. Fang and the Flock got off easy—they haven't done the underwater submersible simulator yet.**

**30. Mart was my favorite character to write, and I have no less than SIX scenes where he turned out NOT to be a traitor…but then, well, you'll see…**

.

I rubbed my temples just as Molly launched into a string of curses in a mixture of English, French, Gaelic and, I _think_ that was Yugoslavian she just hissed in.

Someone's been listening to Dag cuss on dangerous missions.

Gira went the more subtle route. She's smacking her head against the desk repeatedly, muttering one word over and over again.

Well, at least she's using the mild form.

"Vaulder. I want to speak with her, and once I have, I'll believe you." I told him, my voice not revealing my panic.

"But of course!" I swear, that man was almost cheerful. "Girl, she wants to speak with you."

"Ben?" I closed my eyes when the answering whimper came back over the airwaves. "Ben, are you hurt?"

"No…" I could hear her trying to be strong, but her voice cracked ever so slightly.

"Have they been threatening you?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Are Dag and Ricky alright?"

"Mm-hm."

"Have they been threatened?"

"Yeah. Di, I'm scared." I'm sure I was crying now. She was eight. Eight!

"I know, sweetie."

"Di, he's—" Ben yelped, and Vaulder's ice-cold voice wound into the room.

"You have your proof—now for my demands. I want Jayson. I want you to surrender. I want Lightning disbanded. And I want you to submit yourself and one Maximum Ride for testing." He paused, probably for dramatic effect. "Or I kill all three of your precious Lightnings." Wow, cliché line, much?

When I stayed silent, he added, "You have three days to consider this, and I warn you, try a foolhardy rescue mission like the one you attempted in London, and you will severely regret it." Ben whimpered again. "Because this girl will be the first to die. And then the Super-Eraser--" Molly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, visibly crying. "—followed by the curly haired boy." This time, it was Gira who flinched. "And then each and every one of our captives. Choose wisely, Miss Mumixam. Choose wisely."

The phone hung up with a sharp click.

Gira let out a wail.

.

"All units meeting, all units meeting, all units meeting!" the siren blared, and all Lightnings, and the trainees that still remained assembled.

Once everyone had sat down, I came out. I know my eyes were red, but otherwise, I should have looked normal.

"Everyone!" I yelled. Silence came immediately. "Everyone." I said softer into the mike, looking out at the two hundred and fifty people assembled. "We have some bad news. Dagger Lewis, Richard Baker and Benevolence Zeta-Rho have been taken hostage by Itex. Their demands are for Jayson Vaulder to surrender himself, Lightning to be disbanded, and for us to surrender Maximum Ride and myself."

Groans echoed in the hall. "What are we going to do, Di?" Someone yelled from the back, and I shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know. Maximum Ride is…dead, I won't force you to disband, and I'm surrendering myself. If Jayson so chooses to go back to his family, that's his choice. I know that this is probably a trap, but I've talked to Ben, and I have no doubt that all three of them will be killed."

"Aren't you going to fight back, Di?" Angel called from the back, pushing her way up front. "Aren't you Di the eternally prepared, Di the invincible?" I saw Fang smirk—they thought they had me.

"I never gave myself those names. I'm just Diane Mumixam, an eighteen-year-old girl in a position thirty-five year olds couldn't handle. I'm just…me."

"We ARE going to fight, right?" Angel called again.

"If Lightning wants to, we'll fight." The room began to buzz, and Molly took my place.

"LIGHTNING!" she screamed. Silence fell. "Will you fight or surrender?" she called out, and the hush remained. "Anyone who doesn't want to fight, leave now."

Six people stood and exited.

"Anyone who wants to fight, stay. We won't force anyone."

"People will die, I can't do anything about that, but this may be our last chance to take them down." Three more people left, but everyone else remained.

"Alright. You've made your choice." I told them. "Start preparing. We'll leave tomorrow afternoon." I left the stage, and I returned to my office.

I packed up what I needed from there, and left my office. As I did, strong hands grabbed my wrists and slammed my back to the wall, pinning me there.

Fang was the one who'd grabbed me, the one who had me pinned.

"Can I help you, Mr. Nich—" I started to ask, but Fang cut me off.

"What the hell are you even thinking, right now, Max?!" he demanded, and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm thinking I'll keep my family alive, and if I die, then it'll be for good. 'Sides, I doubt too many people will die. We've got Ocean hacking so we can distract the NTs and NEs and I doubt there'll be many enemies at the battle."

"You're going to die," he told me, proving that he did indeed know what I knew.

"Yes, I am, Fang, I'm going to die. And you know what? It'll be for the better." I brought my knee up and hit him where it hurts. He let me go really quickly.

"You don't have to come, Mr. Nicholson. You can always stay behind and guard base, with those who refuse to go fight." I informed him, and went to the Red area to collect the rest of my equipment.

.

The next afternoon, I was hiding in the shadows of a giant field—where we'd arranged the trade off with Vaulder.

"Diane sent only you?" Vaulder scoffed as Gira stepped out of the plane with a small group of Lightnings to guard her. "I suppose she doesn't want her friends back." He snapped, and Dag, Ricky and Ben were led out of his plane, handcuffed with those plastic flexi-ties. Another NE, or, well, Super Eraser, if you go by Vaulder's name for them, led them out and they stood there.

"I'm amazed. Diane is willing to sacrifice a girl like her daughter and two boys that are almost her brothers-in-law." Vaulder shrugged then. "Well, I have to say, she always seemed like the kind to save herself, rather than others." Ben flinched then, and Vaulder grinned wickedly.

I really don't think I have to tell you how weird that looked. No, actually, it wasn't _weird_, it was downright _**disturbing**_.

"No. I'm sacrificing myself." I spat from the shadows as I revealed myself, and Gira, like Ben, flinched.

The Lightnings assembled shuddered. If I was deviating from the plan we'd outlined earlier, we were in more trouble than they'd though. I stepped forward, slowly, and with purpose, until I stood right in front of Vaulder.

Smiling sweetly, I socked him in the face, as hard as I could. I think he probably lost a tooth…or six…

"Bitch!" he greeted me.

"Lowlife bastard!" I shot back, belting him another good one.

God, that felt good, hitting him. I wanted to hurt him more, but he had Ben, Dag and Ricky, and he could still kill them.

More Lightnings came to stand behind me and Gira as more SEs and NTs provided support for Vaulder and co.

Molly came to stand next to me and Gira. Mart backed Vaulder and the SE.

I tossed a blade to Ben, before they could stop me, and she freed herself and Ricky before getting grabbed. Dag tore apart his cuffs, grabbed Ben and Ricky, and got them out of there as fast as he could.

In that instant, Vaulder had a gun out and facing me, while I had mine out at him. Molly and Gira were both quick on the draw—the SE and Mart were their targets, while the Mart cocked his gun at Gira and the SE aimed for Molly.

Vaulder and I kept firing off insults, as if one could crack the other's shields, but it was to no use.

Molly noticed our situation and murmured, "Stalemate," before yelling it to the field. "STALEMATE!" and several of our Lightning's groaned, knowing full well that this meant standing there until someone caved.

Slowly, I lowered my gun, purposely leaving Vaulder an opening. Gira and Mart hissed back and forth beside me, and Molly shuddered at the similarity between the SE and Dag.

Vaulder noticed my defenses were lowered, saw an opportunity and took it.

He fired his gun straight at my heart.

The last thing I felt was a round of steel punching into my ribs. I crumpled, just as two more shots rang out. The battle began as I fell into blackness.

.

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**AWESOME!**

**Okay, guys, one (or two) more things. One, I posted two new stories, a one-shot, 50 Moments of Dylla, and a series, 10 Things You Never Knew About the Flock.**

**Second, I got my PSAT scores back…didn't do so well…so I may have to spend a LOT more time studying…and less time writing. Hence, my writing may slow down.**

**THIRD! This is totally un-betaed, this chapter, since my Beta has finals (in December? I mean, really, guys, week before Christmas here, in the middle of Hannukah, no clue when Kwanza is this year, but I think it's pretty close, so can you cut us some slack?!).**

**FOURTH! I will try to update ASAP, but I won't promise anything. My b-day is coming up (tomorrow is my Mami's. The 15****th****.) and I have winter camp, so I won't have internet connections, plus I have this massive report due in the MIDDLE of winter break (curse you Mr. T, for having me work with a complete stranger in my class via e-mail over the holidays)…**

**I think that's about it!**

**Luna**


	31. Battle Situations: Someone Won't Awaken

**Hey, ya'll! VERY long chapter, nearly 3,000 words, very non-filler, so...**

**I cried when writing this. There are parts I've written no less than sixteen times, just to get them right.**

**My emotions were running high, because...well, you'll see.**

**Disclaimer: Haven't done one of these in a while...I don't own Maximum Ride, although I may or may not own Diane Mumixam. Still trying to figure that one out.**

**.**

When Di collapsed on the battlefield, there was a huge cry of horror, before silence fell on the field and everything froze. Di was down for the count.

They thought she was dead.

Too many things happened at once on that December afternoon—Mart shot his gun off into the air just above Gira's shoulder—he sheared off a lock of her hair that had been caught by the breeze— and Molly blasted the SE into oblivion, his head exploding like some kind of gruesome piñata. Vaulder had a wicked grin on his face before Dag and Molly nailed him at the same time, in his arm and his lower ribs. He was badly hurt, but probably not dead.

They didn't have a chance to check for sure, since at that moment, the world exploded. Lightnings screamed in rage as SEs, NTs and every other being on the field hurled themselves at their opponents.

Shots rang out, knives and claws bit deep, and people passed out from pain, blood loss and death.

There was too much going on to keep up, as a bullet from Gira's gun struck Mart in the back, as Dag slid a knife in between the ribs of one of his blood brothers, as Molly swung around, her long red braid trailing behind her as she assisted a junior BL.

Juju and Mal arrived in a stolen plane and leapt into the battle, not using weapons, only bare fists and feet. They tag teamed, working together to take down opponents. Mal received a deep scratch down her thigh; Juju tore the hem of her cotton t-shirt to use as a makeshift bandage, before they dove back into a routine, Juju coming from above, Mal from below.

Juju leapt onto a NTs back and pounded it on the head while Mal slid underneath it's belly and pinched a nerve that knocked it out. Together, they smashed it's skull with a heavy rock. The NT never moved again.

The fighting slowed and Molly spared a second to kneel beside her fallen leader, a second redhead crouching over Di's head.

Molly had her two empty guns in a double holster on her left hip, and a thin cut sliced across her forehead.

The second girl had blood smeared on her hands, tears in her clothes and numerous scratches and wounds.

"I don't think she's dead, sis." The second girl spoke quietly. "It's not like her to just die…

The two girls exchanged looks before silently lifting Di up just the slightest. Molly's sister pressed two fingers to Di's wrist and found a pulse, fluttering ever so slightly.

"She's alive. C'mon. We can't leave her here." Molly didn't speak, just supported Di's feet.

Together, they struggled through the battle, stopping to help others out of tight situations or to defend themselves from attack.

"You forgot your meds today, didn't you?" Molly grunted as she drove her blade into the heart of an SE. Four more surrounded them.

The younger girl grinned sheepishly, snapping out a kick that dislocated a different SE's shoulder.

"How'd you guess?" she asked, using the momentum from her previous kick to bring her through to a second, more powerful kick that swept his legs out from underneath him. Three more attacked, and they worked together, Molly's sister distracting them while Molly killed them. Dag shot one of them before running out of ammo and simply chucking the gun at an SE, effectively denting its skull.

Molly grinned and blew him a kiss before tackling another.

They got out of that mess and moved Di fifteen feet before being attacked again, this time by two NEs. Juju and Mal helped them out of that one—screaming and attacking effectively distracted them while the two elder women moved Di out of harm's way.

By the time they got to a safe zone—the med ship hadn't been invaded yet—both girls were injured quite a bit more.

Di was put on one of the med-bunks, and a harried Phoenix clipped a sensor to her limp fingers, looked at the readings and swore.

Moving as quickly as he could, he bandaged Di up and unsuccessfully tried to stabilize her condition.

"What happened to her?!" he demanded as he pressed a wad of gauze down onto Di's bleeding chest.

"Direct gunshot to the heart." Molly's sister replied before Molly could answer. The med burst into a string of very graphic curses. "Can you save her?" her voice was soft and vulnerable.

"I dunno, miss. We can try." He spat, before swearing harder.

Molly turned to look at her sister.

"I thought you hated her." She stated quietly. "So why'd you save her life?"

The younger girl smiled at her sister. "I never hated her…I just didn't know. 'Sides, she's been awesome to both of us. 'Course, I thought she was Diane Mumixam, but I never knew Maximum Ride so well, either."

Molly looked her sister right in the eyes. "How long have you known?"

"About a month. When Ni—Fang. When Fang and all them came, I knew for sure. I'd guessed, but…Molls, I thought you trusted me."

"I did. She didn't."

"Yeah. I guessed that, too." The eighteen year old put her hand on Molly's. "Take care of her. Don't let her get worse, 'kay, sis?"

"Sure. Get on, scram." Molly fist-bumped her sister, before pulling her into a hug. "Take care of yourself, 'kay, Liss?" She whispered softly, and Lissa nodded.

"You too." And then she was gone, leaping back into the battle with a fierce war-cry.

Molly's hands flickered with fire, her hair and eyes blazed, and then she was back out in a move, hurling fireballs at her opponents, leaving Di lying motionless on a med-bay bed.

This battle would be theirs.

She would make sure of it.

.

Juju sat next to Mal in the battlefield, defending her fallen friend. She had her hand on Mal's, wishing Mal would get better, and suddenly, a rush of warmth left her body and Mal started to move.

"Man…I feel like an elephant sat on me. Hey, what are we doing sitting down for? Shouldn't we be fighting? Juju? Why are you looking at me funny?"

"Mal…You were bleeding to death two seconds ago. I think I have the right to look at you funny."

Mal tipped her head and studied her best friend. "You can heal." She murmured, trying to process it. "Sveti isprdak. You can heal."

.

Gira was crouched, panther like, behind a pile of rocks. She heard footsteps approaching, and she leapt out, swinging her blade down like a pike into her opponent's head. The pack on her back thumped heavily, but she didn't care, she slit his throat.

Her mind was a blur, meshing everything together. She fought who she could, destroyed everything.

Four words whirled around in her mind.

_Avenge Ricky. Honor Mart._

_ Avenge Mart. Honor Ricky._

Over and over and over the words circled, and she fell into a rhythm, attacking on _Revenge_ and moving on when her mind hissed _Honor_. She didn't realize anything, she didn't realize her speed or the wide-eyed gapes of her comrades.

She only saw the enemy, and she only fought to avenge and honor.

.

The bad news came after the battle was over. When the Green told her, Molly's eyes widened and her hair sparked and flamed. Trickles of fire ran down her cheeks, and Molly cried for someone lost that she knew she'd never be able to save, not this time. Not this time.

She'd never be able to save them again.

.

The assassin slid open the window and hid under the desk. Katrina's footsteps approached. "Yeah, Aunt Marianna, I'll get that paperwork to you before tonight!" The twenty-seven year old woman laughed at something. "Yeah, yeah." The door opened and shut.

The man under the desk saw her black heels, waited until she'd grabbed a file from a cabinet before he pounced.

Three hours later, Analisse opened Katrina's door and found her older sister's body on the floor, wide-eyed and bloody, with a typewritten note on her desk.

_That's for destroying Itex_, it read. Analisse screamed, loud and long.

Her older sister would never laugh again.

.

Gira reflected back on the part of the battle she remembered—the rest was merely a blur.

_The bullet punched into Di, and then two more shots rang out._

_ The one fired from Mart's gun whizzed over her shoulder, cleanly slicing off a lock of her hair, just as Molly screamed obscenities at her opponent. There was silence, and then everything launched into fast-forward, everyone moving too fast, everything whirling by as Mart spoke shakily._

_ "I can't kill you." He whispered. "I just can't."_

_ Gira stared at him, and he straightened._

_ "I can't kill you," Mart said calmly._

_ "Then don't! Come back to Lightning!" she cried, then added, more softly, "Come back to me."_

_ Mart shook his head no. "Lightning never stood for what I believed. I love the people, but what you believe, I don't. Itex is in the right for this one. Xeti isn't. You join us."_

_ "NO!" Gira yelled. "I won't EVER join Itex, not after what they've done!"_

_ Mart raised a pale white eyebrow. "And what have they done?" he asked calmly, firing off a bullet into the fight._

_ "They…they…they've hurt everyone in Itex!" she spat back, and Mart regarded her._

_ "What have they done to you or I?" There was a scream of pain from Molly, and a war cry from a faceless Green._

_ Gira didn't answer, frozen. _

_ "Exactly. I won't kill you, but I won't go back, either." He unslung the pack on his shoulder. "Here. Read them. Understand." Then, Mart turned to leave, and Gira suddenly jolted into movement._

_ "Then I'll do what you couldn't—end this!" She yelled, and a single shot echoed out. An ounce of iron hit Mart as he turned back to face her, hitting him in the chest, probably puncturing a lung._

_ With a cry of shock, he collapsed, and Gira, pale with the shock of what she'd done, rushed to his side._

_ "Mart…" she gasped, her eyes wide. "I…I didn't mean…" Mart smiled weakly at her._

_ "Is…It's alright." He told her. "I…I would've done…the same." His eyes fluttered shut for a second, then he pushed them open. "I…I'm not…sorry forwhat I did…but I never meant for…anyone to get hurt." He told her, gasping slightly. "Tell…tell Dag and them…what happened." His eyes shut again, and it was with more effort that he forced them open. He coughed, a bubble of blood appearing on his lips. "Love you, sunflower… always have…"_

_ With a sharp choking gasp, Mart's eyes glazed over. Impulsively, Gira leaned over and kissed him on the lips as Mart passed on._

_ She lingered there for a second, then straightened with a deadly look in her eyes. She turned, just in time to see Ricky leap in front of a small group of JBLs, blocking a NE from biting a boy who couldn't have been older than sixteen._

_ Only problem was the eight inch fangs that were now protruding from his skin. Ricky screamed in agony as his eyes rolled up in his head._

_ Gira cried for one of the boys she loved as the blood of the other coated her lips._

.

Angel sat next to Di, plucking at the area where Di's thoughts should be, but she found nothing for her probing mind to grasp.

Suddenly, she found a flash of thought, so she grabbed it with mental fingers and tugged it into Di's head.

Di's eyes snapped open and she jolted upright.

"Hey!" she yelped. "What was that for?"

Angel gaped at her. "Max, Di, person-with-the-Hannah-Montana-scale-identity-crisis, you've been unconscious and thought to be dead for a week and a half!"

Di tipped her head at Angel. "I told Fang my plan; I would die, but I would live." Her eyes widened. "He didn't get the hint, did he? And Juju didn't…" Angel shook her head. "Well, then, I can shut down my body and appear dead, while still being, um, alive. Even if I get, um, fatally shot, or, um, something like that, I'll still be alive." Di sighed. "Juju can do it, too. We figured it out a whole while back."

An alarm suddenly rang out. Di rolled her eyes

"Great. Here comes the calvary," she muttered, then asked, "How's Mal and Ben and Juju and Gira and Molly and Dag and Ricky and everyone else?"

Angel looked down. "I dunno if you want to hear it from me, or Molly, or anyone else."

"I want to hear it from you." Di whispered.

"A lot of things happened in the battle, and…forty-eight people died. A lot more NEs and NTs died, too. But…Mart refused to shoot Gira, but Gira shot him and killed him…Ricky…Ricky, he tried to save a few of the Juniors, but an NT bit him and poisoned him…He died three days ago of massive acid burns and poisoning." Angel looked up at Di with big eyes. "Tory's paralyzed waist-down, can't even walk. Emerald's got a lotta acid burns going down her left side. Dag's a little bruised and banged up…Molly nearly died of blood loss, but Juju healed her…And…Molly's sister…she died in the battle." A tear rolled down Angel's cheek.

"Lissa? She's gone?" Di seemed stunned, not crying, not reacting, just processing. Her mind whirled, but her body remained still as stone.

.

Here's the thing. Lissa and I made peace a long time ago.

She thought Fang and I were brother and sister—and thusly, we _couldn't_ like each other in _that_ way because it would be incest.

Molly told me the whole thing—Lissa doesn't know that Di _is_ Max, or that I'm Max _and_ Di—and it was a really sad story, all in all.

Lissa makes attachments and they fuse like you've used superglue, so keep that in mind. Both her parents died in a car crash, and she spent the next fourteen years bouncing around from foster home to foster home.

Her boyfriend of a year and a half dumped her, brutally, via a twenty-six second phone call. Lissa went maniacally depressed, started doing drugs and stuff like that.

Lissa and Molly were in foster-care at that time, and finally, after about a month, Molly turned eighteen and could collect her trust fund and legally take custody of Lissa. They moved to Virginia, Lissa still depressed enough to try to kill herself.

Needless to say, Molly enrolled her in counseling.

Read, a shrink.

Two weeks later, we showed up, and Lissa attached to Fang. She perked right up, dropping her addictions like red-hot pokers and rising out of her depression.

It didn't matter to her that Fang wasn't dating her, just the fact that he was _there_ helped her. There's a medical condition for what she has—Reactive Attachment Disorder. Since she was a baby, she's never been able to attach to anyone, since both her parents died in a car crash and it took until her eighth birthday to track Molly down.

Anyway, Lissa was on the mend, getting better every day. She didn't do drugs, and she didn't need the shrink anymore, either.

Then, we left (thank Mr. Pruitt for that one, and Anne…and Ari…) and, well, Molly was at work when it happened, so…let's just say…four out of the five people who died that day were Lissa's handiwork. She exploded, went totally insane.

No one could restrain her, no one could calm her down.

Eventually, Molly got there, and Lissa subdued immediately. But the damage had been done, and Lissa was sent to an institution.

There, Marianna approached Molly about a certain type of medication. The cost? Joining Lightning.

Molly would have fought even if Lissa didn't need the meds, she swears up and down. Saving lives is what she's meant to do, even if it means destroying others. That was part of the reason she was studying to be a cop.

But even if she would have, that's how we got Molly. Once I understood about Lissa, I didn't hate her as much as I could have. I didn't know her well—she was a Red, under Tory—but she'd sometimes come and hang out with Gira and Molly and I.

I'd learned a lot about her. She'd never known her parents and never even met Molly until she was eight, she had attachment problems—once she hooked on to someone, she wouldn't let go, unless she had the meds to loosen her up, her favorite style of music was pop, she whole-heartedly believed there was a heaven and hell, she had fallen in love with a guy named Kevin Sanders, and Molly would be the maid of honor in her wedding next April.

It was December when she died.

There was a lot she'd never gotten to do—and a lot she'd never get to.

And, like the battle, it was one hundred percent my fault, both Molly being blackmailed for the meds and Lissa dying in my fight.

It was my fault.

.

I didn't cry; I couldn't. I knew there was worse to come. Angel was crying freely now, and she said the six words I had hoped never to hear. "And Gira committed suicide this morning."

The tears I'd been holding in exploded.

Gira was dead.

**.**

**Now you know why I was crying. I told you someone would die--was that who you were expecting?**

**There's a reason I chose Gira, and you'll see in a chapter or two.**

**I'm actually not sure where to go from here...I have three different routes, each ending up someplace different.**

**By doing this, there's a lot you won't get to see, but there's also a lot more you'll get.**

**I'm really sorry for killing Gira, Mart AND Ricky, but it was either them or Juju, and Juju's rather crucial to the plot at this point in time.**

**Oh, and I'll probably update like, Christmas Eve or something, maybe or maybe not, since I'll miss a week, 'cause I'll be at winter camp with my church, AND it's my b-day next Sunday, so...**

**Until then,**

**Luna**

**PS: I'm BETAing a Gallagher Girl fic, Gun A Lisa, so, SHAMELESS ADVERTISING!!!, and I'm looking to BETA a MR fic...I need something to do other than homework and SAT prep.**


	32. Losing Sanity: Amazing Grace: Goodbye

**Hey, guys! A couple things—it's the beginning of the year, coming up, so that means I get to change my online name and penname.**

**Yes, Luna is not my real name—get over it! Staring on January 1****st****, I will be Sylver, under the penname UntilIFearedIWouldLoseIt (Starting sometime in May, probably).**

**Yes, this is an annual thing—every January 1****st****, my online persona changes. My personality will be the same, but Rose, Elli and I all change names. It's an Anti-Stalker precaution. So, Sylver (Luna), Valley (Ella) and River (Rose) are still us, but with different names. It's confusing, I know. My profile has the full deets.**

**ALSO! I will miss updating next week—I will be at winter camp and have no time to write and/or update as well as no internet. Since I know you people will want compensation, I wrote a double chapter. Keep in mind—this is not what I was planning, but this is where the story leads me. I'll try to keep everything the way it needs to be, but for now…this is what happens. This is the way the story goes. And I welcome flames and regret that the story has gotten so dark…**

Angel was sobbing, and I was crying silently, but then she dropped another bomb.

"Katrina…she was assassinated during the battle. Analissa was the one to find her." Neither of those would faze me, not so much, but together, I lost it. When a strangled yelp worked it's way out of my throat, I was outta there.

I didn't care that people thought I was dead, I simply swung my legs over the side of my hospital bed and left.

Luckily, they'd left me in my regular clothes, so I didn't have to worry about hospital gown flashing.

I slammed the door open and ran through the halls, flitting through people who couldn't see me there. I locked myself in my office, turning my music up as loud as it could go.

From there, I dissolved into tears and screaming, throwing a temper tantrum the likes of which this planet has never seen.

Literally. I don't think too many temper tantrums involve screaming, "Why?" at the top of one's lungs, and also blue lightning sizzling its way through the air to char every available surface.

.

Dag felt the music before he heard it, and Molly rolled her eyes when she heard the song.

_Count me in, but don't count me out, you can't shut me up, you can't shut me down._

_ Fight through the hurt, fight through the pain, without the ache, there is no gain. We live our lives for the love of the game._

_ And we will rise, this is our time. Don't let the chances of our lifetime pass us by. And we will rise, this is our time. We'll give this everything we've got—for the love of the game._

Periodically throughout the lyrics, powerful screams would blend into the music.

Molly dropped her head on the desk and whacked it repeatedly.

"Not again…who do we shoot this time, Dag?" she moaned. "It hasn't been this bad for…ever, really…" she trailed off as Dag stood.

"If it was one of the juniors, can I have the honor of defenestrating him?" he asked, and Molly nodded.

"But only if I can shoot them first," she informed him, turning back to her paperwork.

Fang, sitting across the table from her, tipped his head to the side and asked, "Why?"

Molly grimaced. "Hear those screams?" Fang nodded. "They're not part of the song." A second music started, and shrieks rang out ever higher and more powerful.

_And it finds me, the fight inside is coursing through my veins, and it's raging, the fight inside is breaking me again._

_ It's still the same, pursuing pain. Isn't worth the light I've gained. We both know how this will end. But I'd do it again._

_ And it finds me, the fight inside is coursing through my veins, and it's ragin, the fight inside is hurting me again._

_ And it finds me, the war within me pulls me under, and without you, the fight inside is breaking me again._

The song ended with a screaming wail and the sound of breaking china.

From the sounds of it, Di was destroying everything she could lay her hands on.

Molly sighed and knocked on the door.

"Di, you've got five seconds to open this door before I get Dag to smash it down for me." There was no response, only another anguished wail and a louder crash.

Molly rolls her eyes and kneels to pick the lock. Once it clicks, she stands and pushes it open.

She just stands and watches as Di, tears streaming down her cheeks, whirls and smashes something else.

"Why, why, why, why?!" The black-haired girl screams. "Why?!" It's a blood-curdling shriek, and it's horrifying.

A third song blasts, and the end makes Di drop to her knees, burying her face in her hands and crying even harder.

_I'd give it all to you, I offer up my soul, It's already over, already over, now! Give it all to you, letting go of me, reaching as I fall…_

_ I know it's already over, now, nothing left to lose, loving you again! I know it's already over now! It's already over now! I know it's already over, already over…_

Molly tentatively steps over to the girl crumpled on the floor.

"Are you okay? No, you're not okay, are you, Di? Do you need help?" she asks softly, and Di's only response is to wail and kick her feet on the ground.

Energy floods the room, blue whirlwinds and thunderstorms, electric rain and powerful wind. Molly grabs onto the door handle and watches for precious minutes, letting Di cry and let it all out.

_ She's screaming out, "I've lost control," caught in another undertow. She's only barely hanging on. Been holding her breath for so long. Her feet never touch the ground. She's not sure which way is up or down._

_Casualties, of the American dream. Have we lost our vision? Drifitng off and living, half-asleep with a faint heartbeat, just dying to be revived. I just want to be revived. I just want to feel alive. And in a world so numb, don't let me become another casualty living in a dream._

Molly looks around at the destroyed office, and sees the picture frames littered on the floor, glass shards shimmering, shredded paper, torn fabric, broken furniture.

Everything is damaged, if not destroyed, with one exception.

There, on the desk, is a glass cat.

It balances eerily, tottering on the edge.

Gira had given it to Di, and it was the only thing that had survived the attack on Base, countless raids, everything. It had survived. But yet…

As Molly watched, the glass cat trembled and fell, shattering into a million pieces, never to be replaced.

Di lets out a terrifying scream and energy sparked feebly in her hair before flickering out.

Itex had been defeated; yet they had still won.

Diane Mumixam was shattered.

.

Di is broken.

She's lost so much, and she can't see what she still has anymore.

Her sisters, her brothers, her family. Gone.

Sure, her mother and blood sister are alive, but what does that count? They weren't there when she needed them, so to her they might as well be dead.

Molly doesn't understand—sure, she lost Lissa, but she still had Dag.

Who did she lose?

Well, everything.

Nothing left.

Nothing left.

Nothing…

.

Molly can only watch as her friend self-destructs.

She can only shudder at the blood-curdling screams; can only wince when blood drips from cuts in her friend's skin.

_It's not fair_, she thinks desperately, _that the one who needed to die the most couldn't._

Perhaps it's wicked that she thinks that way…perhaps it's unfair that she thinks Di should just die, but to her, that's the kindest thing that can happen now.

She kneels next to the shattered shell, wrapping an arm around her and holding her close.

It's not enough to put her back together, she knows, but maybe she start assembling her again, but leave the rest for someone else to smooth out.

Ben, little Ben, is standing in the doorway, wide-eyed as her hero breaks. She felt the emotions, she tried to soften the blows for her, but it didn't work.

Mal's behind her, trying to turn her away, but it doesn't work.

The Flock watches as the girl they thought they knew breaks even more than they thought was possible, and they think that now they'll never get the girl they used to know back.

Members of Lightning cry themselves as the news sinks in.

Too many people have died—four hundred too many have died—and it's too much.

Juju snakes her way through the crowd and sees her sister dying inside.

So she does what she can do. She creeps in and kneels in front of her sister, wiping away the tears with her soft black scarf.

Di's too far gone to realize who she is, and just whimpers as more tears flood her cheeks.

Slowly, people see the change, and it's not one they like. Di's once alive eyes are dull and blank, lost, hopelessly so.

Juju sees this and pulls her sister closer, into a hug and just pats her shoulder comfortingly.

Then she eases Di to her feet and leads her out of the room.

Di truly is broken.

It's not looking like she'll ever be fixed.

Maybe diamond _can_ shatter after all.

.

Juju is a master in martial arts now. Di can't train her anymore, but she's going to teach herself.

She won't let Di down.

She can take down anyone, anywhere. She practices until her knuckles bleed, until she begs herself for mercy, and then she still goes on.

Di wouldn't stop, so neither will she.

She gets up at the crack of dawn and goes to bed at midnight, often when Mal comes to stop her.

She's thin and pale, but she won't do anything but fight. She'll be there to deliver the final blow, to make Vaulder suffer like she's suffered.

It's only fair. It's revenge, for Di.

Juju's the _best_ at revenge.

.

No one's gotten over the last battle. So many people died, and there's a list posted on the bulletin board, a list detailing who died and how.

So many names decorate the list.

So many deaths had to happen to end this once and for all.

But Itex isn't down yet.

Juju yanks on her black leather gloves and flexes her hands. She's going to finish it. She's going to shatter them like they shattered Di. She's going to end them like they ended Gira. She's going to betray them like Mart betrayed them. She's going to sacrifice herself like Ricky did. She's going to assassinate them like they did to Katrina.

Molly weaves spikes into her waist length braid and plaits a heavy jade stone at the end of her braid. She'll smash them, utterly destroy them. It's only fair.

Revenge is revenge, and however they choose to do it, they'll win.

They simply can't lose.

They're going to end this. They're going to strike revenge for Di. And nothing will stop them.

.

Ben sat huddled on the wall, her knees up to her chin and her arms around her knees.

Ty, four years older than her came up upon the now nine year old. He swung his legs over the wall and sat next to her. It's silent, but for the wind and the shouts of people below. More people are leaving—they don't have a reason to stay anymore.

"You think this world is as crazy as I do?" she asks, and he jumps just a bit, since he's not expecting to hear her talk. She hasn't talked, not to anyone but her sister for the past two months. "Di's slowly dying in a coma and they're talking about going shopping. Their siblings and friends died in a massive battle, and they're leaving the place that gave them life in the first place. It just seems crazy to me."

Ty's struck by how much older the little girl seems now. She's shivering, ever so slightly, and he does the first thing he can think of. He drops his coat over her shoulders. It's nothing romantic, but Ben smiles at him. It's an act of an older brother who'd been gone for a long time comforting the little sister he'd never known. All Greeks had a bond—any bond with Ben was just stronger than most. She was the baby, after all.

He thinks it's the first time she's smiled in three months. She's like a little sister to him, just like Mal is, and he's like an older brother to her, even though they're total strangers. It's another Greek thing. They can't explain it, can't reason it…it just is.

"Yeah, it is crazy. But that's life." He's been crying—Sam had been killed in the battle alongside Sho. He was proud to have known them, proud to have fought alongside them, but it hurt, knowing he'd never see them again.

"Aren't you staying with me and Mal?" Ben asks, looking up at him through her big blue-green eyes. "You're family, right?"

Ty looks off into the distance. "Maybe. I dunno. Something tells me I gotta go out and avenge them, but the other part of me wants to just be normal, for once. I lived in a normal life, but it was never normal. Maybe normal for us—" Here, Ty gestured at the other experiments that still lived at Base. "—isn't normal for anyone else. I feel like I should be protecting the world."

Ben grinned up at him. "That's the way everyone else feels, too. I can introduce you to Mara. She'd like you, even though she's so old." Ben's voice dropped to a whisper. "She's nearly thirty, and still alive!" Ty cracked a grin, and they both laughed for the first time since all of this started.

The sad part was how rare Mara truly was.

.

They've come back from the mission, dragging a dead body with them. Both are in critical condition, but the body in the morgue is Vaulder's, mottled with bruises and bleeding from dozens of cuts.

Juju's in worse condition, so they fix her up first. Her best friends are surrounding her when she wakes. Angel's holding a hand to her forehead, Mal is humming softly, pressing a yellow rose into her hand and Ben's curled into Juju's side. They're hoping and praying she survives, and seeing her blue eyes proves that she'll be there in the future. She's tackled by hugs and then they're dragged out of the room to make sure they don't rip out her stitches.

Molly's next to wake, and she's barely hanging onto life.

She's barely conscious when Dag rushes into the room and grabs her roughly, kissing her and then scolding her with a, "Don't you EVER do that again, you hear me?" She smiles feebly and looks up at him.

"But I finished it, didn't I?" And Dag smiles for once at the redhead.

"Yeah. That, you did. That, you did."

.

It's Gira's funeral. Di's there, sitting in a wheelchair and staring blankly at the sky. She's locked inside her mind, and she doesn't know where she is, but Dr. Martinez wanted her there. She thinks that she has a right to be there.

Juju and Ella agreed.

Molly's hurt, and in a wheelchair of her own, but Dag helped her across the lawn. She tosses an armful of sunflowers and yellow roses in the grave on top of a silvery-white coffin, and Di's fingers loose on a piece from the broken glass cat.

Juju eases it out of her fingers, drawing a drop of Di's blood in the process, and she drops it into the dark hole along with a velvet-soft yellow rose she pulled from a bouquet. The bouquet rests in Di's lap, but she doesn't even notice, just stares blankly at the wall.

Then she and Mal push Di over ten feet and Juju kneels next to another unfilled grave. This one has a smooth wooden coffin, and Juju pushes a small pile of dirt into it, along with two more yellow roses. Mal drops a yellow zinnia while Ben's pear blossom flutters gently down.

Mart's grave is last. A blue periwinkle, a rosemary sprig and a zinnia each land on top of the navy-blue coffin, one from each of the girls.

Juju's voice sings a soft tune, a hymn that Gira loved, Amazing Grace.

She's the only one who sings at first, and everyone falls silent to hear the young girl, too young to have lost like this, sing the song that had given Gira hope so many times so many years ago. Ben's childish voice adds to the sorrow, and Mal simply hums the harmonies of the song.

When they end the song, Di's eyes are still blank, though they glisten with tears.

.

Most of Lightning is gone, and Base has been turned into a home and school for all mutants, everywhere.

Di lives in the mental ward, and they don't think she'll ever come out.

Juju, Ben and Mal are still unadopted, but they share an apartment with Molly and Dag, who got married six months after the battle. Ty lives there, too, and so does Tory. Emerald stays with Analisse and Marianna, trying to keep them sane. It works, at least, sometimes, it does.

Jon and Jane are across the hall, and mutants come to them for advice.

Everyone here has lost far too much. Lives, family members...it's different, for all of them. But they've all lost one thing in common--Di.

They don't think Di'll get fixed. They've tried everything.

Nothing works.

.

She just sits there, staring at a wall, constantly crying.

Hot tears flood her cheeks, her big brown eyes are blank. She's crying, but she doesn't know why. No one will tell her, either.

The girl with the fire-bright hair sits next to her and tries to talk to her.

_This isn't like you, Di, snap out of it!_ Fire-bright hair cries and she only stares at the wall.

_I'm so sorry Di, so, so sorry…_she cries, and the nice man comes and takes her away.

She registers it, but she doesn't do anything. The shock has finally set in.

Next the three little girls try, black, yellow and brown, trying to talk to her.

Black cries and wails and tries to make her remember. Brown presses a small hand to her face, wiping away the tears. Yellow holds Brown in her lap and tries to talk to her, but she never responds.

Everyone tries, but Di never wakes up, not really.

They don't think she'll ever be sane ever again.

.

Fire-Bright is back, and there are more people with her. She's talking, and Di's listening.

_There once was a girl named Maximum Ride, _she says_. She was strong and brave and determined. Maximum Ride had special powers—she could fly and go very fast. Sometimes, she could see the future. She had to save the world, and that's exactly what she did. But one day, she had a vision where her family died because of her, so she left them._

_ Why?_ It's the first word she's said in over two years. Fire-Bright flinches at her rough voice, but plows on.

_Well, she wanted to keep them safe. Then she decided to come to Lightning._

_ Lightning? Who're they?_ She talks like a petulant child, but one who wants to hear the end of a fairy-tale, to know that it's going to come out alright.

_ Lightning was a group of people who wanted to destroy the people who wanted to kill her._

_ That's not very nice. They should've just asked her to stop._ Di's eyes are beginning to flicker around the edges, starting to stop being blank. It's not the words that Di speaks that scare them; it's the childish tone she speaks with that terrifies them. It's a tone and inflection she's never used before, never, not even back when she was little. Nice-Man closes his eyes tight, and Yellow flinches.

_No, it's not nice, and the people wouldn't have wanted to ask her. They were too proud._ Fire-Bright is crying, and so is Black. Brown is sobbing into Yellow's shoulder, and Yellow has silent tears sliding down her face.

Black begins to speak for Fire-Bright. _Maximum Ride changed her name, to something else and she came and saved me. For three years, she was my sister. But then something awful happened—one of the other girls we thought of as sisters killed herself._

_ Why?_

_ Well, both of the people she was in love with, both of them died. So she wanted to be with them and she killed herself to be with them. Ever since then, Maximum Ride wasn't the same._

_ Who was she when she changed?_

_ Diane Mumixam._

Those two words flickered in Di's eyes, and then her eyes opened up, the blankness simply vanishing.

_I'm so sorry, _she whispered. _I didn't mean to stay away so long._ She sighed. _The future is so beautiful, right now. I've been checking up on everyone._

Molly smiled and slid her hand into her husband's, and a fourteen-year-old Juju hugged her big sister.

_You're going to do so much good, Juju. So much more than I ever did. And Ben and Mal…Oh, the three of you'll take care of the world so well._

_ But what about you?_

_ I'm not going to last long…the world's safe, now. They don't need me anymore._ Di whispers, looking down. _I'm programmed to die._

_ How long?_ It's the first words Mal's spoken throughout this, and you can hear the pain in the usually stoic thirteen year old's voice. The whole room hushes as they wait for her answer.

_Three weeks. I have three weeks to live._

**.**

** There are a lot of songs that contributed to this chapter. They include, "Watch Me Shine" by Joanna Pacitti, "For the Love of the Game" by Pillar, "Fight Inside" by RED, "Already Over", also by RED, and "Casualties" by Addison Road, as well as the ever famous "Amazing Grace" sung by Leann Rimes, Mahalia Jackson, Elvis Presley and many, many others.**

** The song that I was listening to when I wrote that bit was the version by Chris Tomlin and the Wilberforce University Choir.**

** Amazing Grace makes an appearance, because it was the reason for choosing Gira. In my mind, Gira was Amazing Grace personified, the hope she brought.**

** Every time they went into battle, it was Gira who cheered them, Gira who made them want to be.**

** It's been sung everwhere, a symbol of hope. Both sides of the Civil War sang it, by the Cherokee Indians on the Trail of Tears, by Civil Rights Protestors during freedom marches…It was even sung when Martin Luther King shared his dream with the world and when Nelson Mandela, a former present of South Africa, imprisoned for 27 years on false charges, was freed…and even when the Berlin Wall crumbled. On September 11****th****, 2001, its refrains rang out as a symbol of hope. When the Saints marched back into the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina…and brought the dying city back to life.**

** In my mind, Amazing Grace is the song for Gira, because she brought Lightning their hope. Girasol means sunflower in Spanish. A sunflower means loyalty and hope for tomorrow. Exactly who Gira was.**

** And the flowers and names of everyone directly correlate to their personality. Just look at the meanings…I'd google them (make sure you use Julie for Juju) …you'd be surprised at what you find. And no, it WASN'T planned…**

** Sorry for the lecture.**


	33. Dealing with Death: Mysteries and Memory

**Here we go, Chapter 33, and the nearing of the end!**

**No long author's note, only a disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned anyone except those I have created.  
**

.

_Three weeks. I have three weeks to live._ Di whispers, murmuring it over and over again as if saying it will make it go away.

_NO!_ Juju shrieks. _You have to have more time, you just have to! It's not fair, it's not fair!_

_ I know it's not, sweetie, but that's the way it is. And I was right. I'd know when I'll die. But the rest of you…you've got long lives to live._

A tear drips down Ben's cheek. She's big now, ten and a half years old, and Di can't believe the difference. They've changed so much in the two years she'd been seeing the future.

_Oh, Benny._ Di sighs. _I always was going to die…it was just a matter of when. I wouldn't have had longer, because this is when I would have died. Everyone has a time, and this is mine._ Di isn't even noticing her family. Everyone's still staring at her in shock, and Di rolls her eyes.

_It's not hard or awkward at all, guys. I'll die peacefully, in my sleep. And then I'll get to watch all of you grow up. Juju, your baby boy will be beautiful, don't you worry about that at all. And Teddy is a lovely name, but it might not be the right one. Keep that in mind._

_ Molly, Dag, congrats. And tell Lissa that I wished I could have been her god-aunt, just like you'll tell Artemis and Diana._

_ Mal, give Gaz another chance. You two'll go far, even if you choose not to get married. But you CAN keep your last name, honey. You don't have to change it._

_ Ben...so many people will look up to you, so keep them safe. You'll be leading them after she chooses to stop. And Grace is a beautiful name for your first daughter. But I'd think about Nick for your son. Just a thought._

Juju grabs onto her sister, and shakes her. _You're not dying, you hear me?_

Di just stares into her eyes. _I'll be where I'm supposed to be. I'll be with Sasha and Gira and Mart and Ricky and Katrina. I'll be with Jeb and everyone else who died. It's where I need to be, hon. You've just gotta let me go._

_You've just gotta let me go._

It was the same thing she'd asked the Flock to do, five years before.

But unlike the Flock, Lightning was going to do everything they could to keep her.

.

She had two and a half weeks left, and you could see that she wasn't scared of death, and that maybe, just maybe, she was looking forward to it. She sat alone at a table, eating in quick, neat bites, twirling her spaghetti onto her fork.

Nudge took a gulp and crossed the tile floor, sliding onto the bench next to her.

"Hi." It was one word, and then Max said the three words Nudge had never expected to hear from Max. "I missed you." That was what made her crack and cry.

Max instantly dropped her fork and pulled Nudge into a hug.

"Shh…shh…it's okay, I'm here, I'm here…" Max stroked the seventeen year old's hair. "You've grown up so much, but it's okay to cry, it's always okay to cry…"

When Nudge's tears stopped, Max's spaghetti was cold, but she didn't care.

"I guess this means you forgive me?" Max asked, and Nudge nodded, shakily. Max slid a water bottle over to the younger girl. "Drink up. You've lost a lot of water, and you're not getting dehydrated on my watch."

Nudge grins and uncaps the water bottle. Max had told her that, back when they'd flown cross-country regularly.

Max eats the rest of her spaghetti, mopping her plate with a roll. Nudge drinks her water, and smiles.

She's made peace with Max…if only she could encourage the others to do the same.

.

Gazzy's in the training courts with Mal, and he's thoroughly getting his behind kicked.

"Damn, you're good." He gasps as Mal pins him, sitting on his back and examining her bright green nails.

"Damn, I cracked my polish." He rolls his eyes, knowing Mal doesn't really care about that kind of thing. He says so, and the next thing he knows is that his arm _really_ hurts and Mal's the one making it hurt.

"Whoever said I wasn't girly? They need to die." This only proves his point, but he's not going to say so.

He really doesn't need another broken arm. She's already broken it three times in the past two years.

"Mal! Sha-keii, vaile!" an imperious voice rings out across the training court. Her eyes widen, and she rolls off him, standing off to the side. A hand reaches down and offers to help him up.

He accepts it, and next thing he knows, he's flying across the court to slam into a wall.

"Ow!" he yelps, as Mal snickers.

"Lesson one. Never take help from someone you don't know. It'll get you killed more often than not." Di lifted herself out of the wheelchair she'd been sitting in.

"And I noticed your right side kicks are getting weak. Snap them up, higher. Like this," she informed them, demonstrating. Even though she was clearly weak, she executed a perfect snap kick, then sank back into the chair, gasping slightly.

"You okay?" Mal asked, worriedly.

"I'm…I'm fine, just more tired than I thought." Di smiled up at the young woman. "Work with him. He needs the help."

"Hey!"

"Oh, you know she loves you!" Di snapped back, and Mal's eyes widened.

"Di! You promised!"

"Yeah, well, I'd actually like to see the two of you kiss before I die, so…move, move, move!"

Gazzy blushed, and Mal turned a color that was only really seen on lobsters, balloons, fire-trucks, cocktail dresses and that really awful sweater with the reindeer Molly insisted on wearing in the winter even though it clashed horribly with her hair.

"You like me?" Gazzy asked softly, and Mal, still bright red, nodded once.

"You like me?" she asked, and he nodded. Di just sat there and watched as they stared each other down, before she finally snapped.

"Just kiss each other, already!"

And that's just what they did.

Di smiled. Maybe she hadn't fixed things with Gazzy, but she couldn't help but feel she'd made them a heck of a lot better.

She wheeled herself out as Gazzy and Mal kissed.

.

Molly watches as Di reviews the video, and then she turns and shrieks, "MOLLY!"

"Um, yes?"

"YOU TOOK JUJU ON A RAID?!" Di roared, and Molly flinched.

"Um, yes?"

"ARE YOU FREAKING INSANE?!" Molly stared Di down.

"She wanted to avenge you. You're the only family she had, and she wanted to take him down. She didn't die, she's alive, and Vaulder won't ever bother any of us ever again."

Di closed her eyes and took deep breaths. "All right. But you gotta tell me everything."

"Of course." Molly assured her. "But there is one part I'm not sharing—because its Juju's to tell."

.

"Really, Ju?" I asked softly. "I can't believe you have a boyfriend. My little Jujie is growing up!" I sniffled, mock wiping away a tear. Juju played with the strings of her guitar as she replied.

"His name is Stephen, and he's a mutant, like us. He's part bunny—don't you laugh, Di!—and his hair is so soft, and he's so cute and sweet…He's got the biggest blue eyes and the cutest pout…" Juju sighed. "Took him a whole year to notice me. Wrote him six songs, and he never even knew."

"You really like him, don't you?" Even though it was phrased as a question, Juju heard that it was a statement.

"I think I love him. Didn't you and Fang realize you loved each other at fourteen?" I nodded, closing my eyes against the memories. I could remember every detail, and it hurt. I'd broken both of our hearts, probably beyond repair. "And…well, we don't know how long we're going to live. That's why he gave me this." Juju showed me her left hand, where a thin silver band looped around her ring finger, along with a slightly thicker gold and silver one twined together. "It's a promise ring. The one that looks like gold and silver rope. It's just a promise that we'll be together. The other one is a promise to myself…that I would find a way to get you back. I can't use my hands without seeing it."

I reached out and pulled her into a hug. "I understand completely. But don't go getting too old on me, now. I still want to know my Jujie. She's my little girl, you know. Taught her most everything she knows, I bet." Juju laughed.

"I know, Di. I know." She repeated, looking sadder than I'd ever seen her.

"Hey, what's got you so down, Juju?" I asked, knowing her answer already. Sometimes, being a psychic was hard. I had to live through heart-breaking events multiple times. I didn't want to, it just happened. But it makes me stronger, even if it weakens others.

"You're leaving me, Di! Even when you were…well, however you were, you were there. I could talk to you, and brush your hair, and…well, I sang to you a couple times, and each time I did, you would smile ever so slightly, and you were just…there, I guess. Now…you'll be in a hole in the ground, and you won't be there." Juju was crying. "I don't want to lose you, Di! You're…you're everything. Didn't you tell me that you used to compare the Flock to a car? Like Nudge was the engine, Gazzy the exhaust, Angel the steering wheel, Iggy the tires, and Fang the nuts and bolts, or something like that? And how you were the GPS, not part of the car, but telling them where to go and what to do? You're OUR GPS, Di. Gira kept us going, Dag gave us the power, Molly had the durability, and Mal, Ben and I were various pieces of who we were. You kept us together. You told us where to go and how to do."

Juju sniffled, and plucked at her guitar softly.

"You know, Mal and I don't ever talk anymore? She can't stand being near me or Ben. Molly and Dag are married, but they didn't ever mention you or Gira or Ricky or Mart. Analisse and Marianna are still in therapy…Ben's turned…well, Emo, if you want to go by stereotypes. She's only pulled out of it in the past week that you've been awake. She'd only ever talk to what's-his-name, Ty, the Greek who lived with…um, Sampi and Sho. Molly pretty much ignores me and everyone else for the most part. She's a leader…but she wasn't like you. She didn't understand people, I guess. She gives orders, and they're obeyed. There's no debate, no alternate plans…"Tears flooded down her cheeks, and I had to close my eyes just a bit.

"I always wanted to be like you. Always. Michelle Branch wrote a song exactly the way I've been thinking the past two years. All you wanted."

Her fingers gently strummed a light tune, and her voice rose, delicate but strong. I was still shocked at how much she'd changed over two years.

She was bigger, and she'd grown up so much. Her eyes had a new depth to them, and she'd lost her innocent air. She'd seen death, and that wasn't something you normally when you were fourteen. She had a scar on her collarbone from where Vaulder had swung out and clipped her with a knife, and numerous other wounds, including several gunshot wounds from various things—she'd been shot in the battle, she'd been shot defending Old Base, she'd been shot on the mission to destroy Vaulder. Her nose was crooked, a sure sign she'd broken it.

Normal teenagers didn't have scars like that.

Still, her fourteen-year-old voice held some of the innocence that Michelle Branch hadn't been able to capture at seventeen.

Halfway through, she broke down and cried.

"I don't want to lose you, Di! I don't want to lose you!"

I didn't know what to say to that, but I moved her guitar off her lap gently and hugged her, stroking her hair and murmuring calming phrases.

"I'll always be there, you know." I whispered. "Haven't you been listening?"

I hummed a song that I knew she knew, and she grinned.

"Of course you pull that song on me. Didn't I use that one, too?"

"_And when I can't be with you, dream me near, keep me in your heart and I'll appear, all you gotta do is turn around, close your eyes, look inside, I'm right here…_" I sang softly, and Juju laughed, even through her tears.

"Yeah…hey, did you feel like this when Double…? Or when you left the Flock?" I looked at her and shook my head no.

"Mm-mm. I didn't ever get to say goodbye or tell her I loved her. A lot was left open-ended. I never told her why she had to die, and I still regret that." I sighed. "As for the Flock, it didn't hurt that much until recently. It was like they were family and I'd moved out for college. Or friends who I'd lived with and then lost contact with. Old childhood friends. It was different because I knew they were alive, and that they would be safe. There was always a Lightning guard at their house. Any trouble was intercepted by them."

"You missed them?"

"Course. You don't get over the loss of your soul mate and family that easily."

Neither of us noticed the person hovering outside the door.

.

Ben knelt in the center of the memorial, Ty sitting cross-legged next to her. They were an odd pair of best friends, ten and sixteen respectively. They'd both hurt a lot over the past five, almost six, years, and they had bonded over it.

Ben's fingers were woven firmly together as Ty brushed his fingers over Sampi and Sho's names. Like Double eighteen lines above them, they had stars and a small symbol. Ty had chosen a triangle, because the three of them together were one.

When Ty was done, Ben started talking.

"Hey, guys. A lot of stuff has happened lately, and I, well, we, thought that you should know. Di's come back, she's not dead, but she's going to die in about two weeks. Double, if you can, help Di not die. She means a lot to us. I know you've heard this from me before, but if there's a way you can fix Lightning from wherever you are, please do it. We need everyone back, and whole. We're just not the same without you guys, and we're not right when we're not Lightning."

Ty spoke four more words, before helping Ben to her feet. "We miss you all."

Then the two young adults left, Ben's small hand in Ty's big one, her spare hand wiping away a tear.

.

"You should have been listening! If you were, you would have noticed it, and this wouldn't have happened!" Dag yelled at Molly. They were in one of their famous fights, the ones that shook Base to it's core and rattled everyone in it.

No matter what people wanted to believe, Dag and Molly were cracked. It wasn't losing Di--they could handle that, but instead it was the pressure of leading so many people. They could lead, but only when they had someone to look up to for confirmation or help. This was too hard for them. Molly was full-leader, and she just couldn't fill Di's shoes. Di had been too perfect, too wonderful, and she couldn't do anything to be her. Dag couldn't handle being a full second-in-command, no one helping him. He hated Molly leading, hated her because she would order him around.

This wasn't the way it was supposed to be.

"And you should have been watching out! None of this would have happened if you had just been watching, like you were supposed to!"

Dag, unfazed, shouted back. "Maybe I should have listened to everyone else, when they told me how thickheaded you were, and how stupid, and how stubborn!"

This one struck home, and Molly sagged in her chair. "They're right...We'll never work out, we never would have. I'm filing divorce papers tommorrow. We'll never have to work with each other again, since I'm resigning. Good luck with your new post, Dag. You'll need it."

.

The young woman sat in her alcove, her fingers deftly braiding a coil of yarn.

She listened to the youngest girl's plainative cries for help to save Di, Ben, wasn't it? She smiled. She remembered Ben when she was so different, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

She listened as Juju cried her heart out to Di, and she listened as Molly and Dag got into another blistering fight.

She grinned when she saw how Mal and Gazzy were getting along. She'd always known they'd work out, and for good reason.

She hadn't watched the people of Lightning for six and a half years for no reason.

She stood and stretched, dropping her braid.

If she was lucky, she wouldn't have to intervene. If she was unlucky, this could all backfire horribly. Leader would shoot her, no doubt. Not literally, but figuratively. She was the only one with enough finesse to finish this, and finish this she would.

She had to get revenge, though.

She had to avenge her death.

.

**Okay, here's the end of this part...only about three more chapters left...**

**Sylver  
**


	34. How it all Happened:Assasin:Happy Ending

**A really long chapter for you guys this time…I had today off, so I put a lot of work into this. A couple of pieces are from what was originally going to be a LOOONG time back, and a couple of pieces were the previous ending. But since the plot changed, the ending changed, and this is what I've got.**

**I gotta make this brief…I've got school tomorrow, so… yeah. Um, I've been informed by a couple of people that my plot twists are getting out of control, so what I'm going to do is go back and rework everything. The plot and everything will stay the same, but some of the dialogue and writing will be different.**

**But that probably won't happen for a while—I need a break from writing after this is through!**

**And the assassin girl featured here is based heavily off of my Beta, the ever wonderful Etta!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, never have, so stay away from me, lawyers! I bite!**

**.**

"I just want you to get better and just fix this!" Juju screamed, hurling herself to the ground and throwing a full fledged temper-tantrum.

"Oh, baby. I can't fix anything that's broken beyond repair." I looked at my lap. "Including me." I whispered, a tear rolling down my cheek. I wiped it away before anyone noticed, and looked back up quickly.

I checked into the future once more, and it was exactly the same. I'd lied about a lot of things, but I already knew how bad everything had gotten, and how much worse it would get.

Lying might give them false hope and let them keep thinking that the world would get better. False hope was better than no hope, right?

At least I hoped. But them getting mad at me was at the bottom of my list of worries. At the top was finding the trio who would murder me, and, hopefully, stopping them.

.

_Maximum Ride has to die. Diane Mumixam has to die_. The words hum through the stranger's mind. He's dead, but not quite. He's like his siblings, his brother and sister, and they'll do anything to get rid of _her_.

They're the last remnants of Itex, foot soldiers who were murdered, brought back to life, and enhanced even more than they already had been. They WERE experiments Alpha17B, Beta22D and Gamma38A. Those pathetic "Lightnings" would never see them coming. They were trained assassins, after all.

The eldest, a man, sharpens his blade, as the youngest, the girl clicks bullets into a small Baby Beretta 3032 Tomcat. She grins wickedly. This will do just fine.

_Click_. This one, to her left arm.

_Click_. This one, to her right.

_Click_. This one to her stomach.

_Click_. This one to her chest.

_Click_. This one to her throat.

_Click_. This one to her forehead.

_Click_. This one to her heart.

She would have seven shots, no more, no less.

All seven of them would drive home.

She _was_ good at this, after all. But her grin wavers. She loves two of the youngest girls, the ones called Ben and Mal. She half-raised them, didn't she? Then when she "died", they were entrusted to Di/Max.

She knew instinctively everything that happened to them. She knew instinctively that the boy, Gazzy, she thinks his name was, would be the best thing to happen to…Mal, she thought. Or maybe it was Val.

She doesn't know their names now. She remembered them when they were Rho and Zeta, the two youngest experiments she'd ever met.

Her eldest brother smiles evilly at her, not knowing the inner turmoil that she's feeling.

"Alright, we're going to run a test run. You ready, Beta? Gamma?"

"Check and ready, Alpha." Gamma speaks up. He'll be running everything from here.

"Prepped and set, Alpha." Beta forces herself to speak and sound eager.

She should want this. She should want to avenge the fact that Maximum Ride was the one who set off the chain reaction that ended in Beta's death.

She should want to end her, right?

.

Molly slapped a folder on the table in front of Dag.

"Divorce papers," she explained in response to his questioning glance. "It's a lot of paperwork." Di rolled in at that point, rolling her eyes.

"Guys, you're ruining quite a bit here. Can't you work this out some other way? Do you have any clue what this is doing to the future? Everything's thrown out of whack!"

"Shut up, Di, you're just the attorney here."

"Since when was I an attorney?"

"Since I decided you were." Molly snapped, clearly ticked off that Di wasn't doing what she wanted her to do.

"Unfortunately, that won't hold up in a court of law. Go find a real attorney—while I scheme to make them refuse to work with you." Di left, as Molly and Dag gaped at her.

.

Beta pulled on her sticky gloves and scaled the wall. She climbed up easily, her muscles groaning at first and then settling into the ease of use as her lithe form fluidly scaled the wall.

On the other side of this place called, "Base" (What an idiodic name, Base. Couldn't they have been more creative?) Alpha climbs as easily as her, but he'll never be as silent. He's heavier, so climbing is harder for him. He needs a harness. She doesn't.

Beta reaches the top, and clips her headset on.

"Gamma, I'm on the roof. Now what?"

"Drop the rope and help Alpha the rest of the way up."

"Alright." Beta secured the rope on a rooftop entrance and dropped the coil down the side where Alpha would climb. "Check, Gamma. Alpha, you can climb now."

"Check and ready, Beta." Alpha's gruff voice comes through the headset, and she smiles ever so slightly. She and Alpha had always _gotten along_ famously. Omega was always so jealous that Beta like Alpha better than him. He was always so jealous, but Beta and Alpha were just best friends.

Alpha reached the roof, and grinned at her. "We're up, Gamma. What next?" he asked in his gruff voice.

"Um, you'll be able to cut through a ventilation shaft," Gamma told the pair. "And crawl through it until you reach a turning point. From there, just climb out a grille—you'll be in a storage room with extra uniforms."

The rest of the practice ran smoothly, up to Beta shooting the Max look alike. She was steady now, but her mind raced.

Would she be able to do it in reality?

The weight of her Beretta Tomcat was usually reassuring, but now, it wasn't.

.

I sat with my face tipped to the sky, listening as the birds sang. It was quiet here, and I liked the way that I could feel so vulnerable.

I wasn't weak, I wasn't hurt. I was me, perfectly strong and uninjured. But for all intensive purposes, everyone thought I would expire, so I had to act like it.

I hated it.

I like being vulnerable, but I hated how people were acting like they'd never gotten the chance to say things to me.

I didn't need this funeral before I died—I simply wanted it over.

But I had to wait for my murderer to come, and I had to wait for her to pull the trigger.

Once she did, I would be knocked unconscious and I would never wake up.

Simple as that. There was a lot I wouldn't get to be, including a mother to the little girl in my vision, and I wouldn't get to see everyone in their futures, but that was what I spent those two years doing, wasn't it? I said my goodbyes then, but they didn't.

I hated lying to my friends, but would you tell your little sister that you would die in your sleep or be brutally murdered? I chose a small lie.

Sitting there with my sight gone, my other senses sharpened, and I felt a presence sit next to me in the soft grass.

A breeze blew lightly into our faces, and I still kept my eyes closed.

"If you had a choice, would you lie to protect someone, or would you tell them the truth, no matter what?" I asked softly, and the person who sat next to me hesitated.

"I dunno. I s'pose it would depend on the situation." It was a voice I recognized, and I realized that it was Fang.

"If you wanted to protect someone, but you didn't know how to do it without hurting them, what would you do?"

"I guess I'd do my best, and when it got too much, I'd ask for help."

At that point, I laughed dryly, still not opening my eyes. "And what if there was no one who could help you? What would you do then?"

There was silence, and then he admitted, "I don't know."

"Then you have a pretty good idea of how I felt for a long time." I informed him, finally opening my eyes. "Very, very lost."

The sky was so blue and bright, and the world was much more vivid. Me and Fang, we just sat there letting the peace soak in and then I heard a laugh while Juju and her boyfriend, Stephen played tag in the meadow in front of us, with Ben, Gazzy and Mal laughing and playing.

"Sometimes I wish I could have that happy ending, like them…" I sighed, watching as my girls laughed and ran, and shrieked. "But then I think of who I am, and I don't think Maximum Ride or even Diane Maximum could ever be content with that cliché happy ever after."

"Why not?" Fang asked, softly.

"Well, for one, I don't have enough time. Only a week and a half left for me…and a lifetime for everyone else." Fang just looked at me, his deep onyx eyes reading my own blue ones. Or brown ones, underneath the contacts.

"And that's stopping you why?" He asked softly, and I could only laugh dryly.

"Honey, I wanted kids and a family. I wanted to adopt Juju and raise her. I wanted to keep Ben and Mal as my girls, and I wanted to make up with my family. But most of them won't even talk to me, and some people are acting like I'm already dead. I can't have my happily ever after. And besides, I'm not the kind of girl to have a white knight or a happy ever after. I'm the drag me off into oblivion kicking and screaming girl. I have to go out with a bang."

"And you can't do that now?"

"Oh, believe me, I will go out with a bang." Both literally and figuratively. He just didn't know it yet.

.

I was working in the development lab at three AM. An idea had come to me, and I wanted to get it out.

I just wasn't sure how. I'm not a genius at everything, and I never claimed to be. It's just when you're famous, stuff gets blown way out of proportion.

I fiddled with a wire in my device, an explosive disguised as a Hershey's bar, when Mal came in.

She sat across from me and picked up my project.

"Hey, Di."

"Call me Max, now, hon." I told her, snatching it back.

"Sure…Max. It's about me and Gazzy…did you say we'd last?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah. I see great things in both of your futures, and you're always intertwined. You might not stay romantically involved, but you'll always compete and try to best each other. You'll be best friends."

"Really?"

"Really." We sat there in silence as I kept working. After about twenty minutes, I put my project down and stretched.

"I'm beat, and I don't think I'll get anything else done with this." I told her, and she nodded.

"Night, Di."

"Night, Mal." I slowly wheeled myself out when I heard her start to open my "chocolate bar."

"No, Mal, don't touch that!" I was up and out of the chair, grabbing it out of her hands and moving away from her.

It was too late, and the bomb exploded, knocking me into oblivion.

The last thing I consciously noticed was Mal shrieking for help and the sirens wailing.

.

I slowly came to consciousness, and I heard people muttering.

"So why'd she leave?" It was a voice I knew…Oh! That was Fang! "And how do you know?"

Molly sighed. "She told me part of the story, and I pieced together the rest. You deserve to know." They didn't seem to notice that I was conscious. "She had a vision. She saw you five lined up, terrified, and a hand with a gun was aimed at you. The person taunted you, something along the lines of 'It's too bad Max isn't here to witness this. After all, it is her fault'. She freaked. After scribbling a note, she raced out of the house, and stopped at the edge of the cliff. Max debated if she should really do it, or just stay and fight. Fang called out to her, and that was what made her do it. She had to save him at all costs-even her own life wasn't too large a price to pay. She closed her eyes and stepped forward. She fell. Her wings tried to open instinctively, but she didn't allow them to. Desperate, her mind enabled a previously dormant power."

"Energy manipulation." Angel's voice was soft and sad.

"Exactly. The force field she made was supposed to stop her entirely, but she didn't have enough energy. It just slowed her fall enough that she didn't actually die. A flash of blue light attracted two hikers, who immediately called 911 upon finding her body. She was taken to a hospital, and her wings were discovered. Luckily for her, Katrina ter Borcht was there. When Max awoke, Katrina offered her a deal. The Flock would be protected, everyone would forget about her wings, and she would keep you all safe, if only she would help take down Itex. Max accepted, for your sakes.

"But she wanted to watch you, to make sure you'd moved on. She watched you for a whole month. You never seemed to change, so she backed off, and let you be. Then she came to the fighting branch of Xeti. It wasn't called Lightning yet. She found the few people there and trained them. They became brilliant fighters. Of the original twenty, Juju, Max and I were the only ones who survived the first two months. When people heard what we were doing, the CSM sent people who wanted to help. Max decided that she shouldn't be called Max anymore-after all, you'd hear of her, and then her cover would be blown. So she 'died' again."

"Really?" Nudge asked softly. "She did all of that for us?"

"Yeah. But I'm not done yet. I thought she really had died, so imagine my surprise when a total stranger walks up with Juju, who should have been heartbroken, hugs me, and says that she's my leader. When she fought, I realized it was her, and I welcomed her back. But then her powers with energy grew, and she sent me away on a mission while she tried to tame them. This was a while after we'd found Dag. But anyway, she killed people struggling with her power. Mart…Mart was struck. We don't think that's why he turned over-in fact, we know it wasn't that, since he was proud to be one of the few Lightnings to survive a Lightning Strike. Lightning was named Lightning because of our leader's power."

"Max killed people on her side…" Ella was shell-shocked.

"She wasn't in control. She couldn't help it any more than she could help breathing. She struggled, and eventually, controlled it. But when her emotions got strong, she would start sparking lightning. So I came back, and we started training harder. I learned about her powers, and we learned more about everyone. Then we found Jay.

"Jay was Vaulder's son. He had been genetically modified without his knowing, so when she found out what his father had been doing to him, he freaked out and ran away. We discovered his camp, and he joined us. Shortly after, Ben and Mal were found, and Di accepted them gladly. They were the youngest we'd ever had in Lightning, and Juju was overjoyed. She finally had friends her own age.

"By the time she was sixteen, Max had become the elite. Then she separated all of Lightning into three. Green, Red and Blue. Everyone was happy with their new assignments, but then…something happened. Ben and Mal were captured. Di lost it. Her energy…wow. I'd never seen so much damage done. There was nothing left of Base. She'd just gotten over losing you all, and then this happened. We rebuilt, but we stepped carefully around her. Eventually, she calmed. We went on more and more missions, leaving Green in charge of Base. The only time she was in total control of herself was when she was on a mission. She spent hours worrying that Ben and Mal were in the Maze—"

"What is the Maze, exactly? People keep referring to it, and no one's ever explained." Angel whispered, softly, and I heard Mal reply.

"You don't really want to know. It's horrible, terrible, awful." Mal's voice shook ever so slightly.

"No, they need to know, Mal. If we're telling, we're telling everything. The Maze is top secret stuff, and I barely know about it. Di—Max. Max and Katrina were the only ones who knew about it, other than Ben and Mal experiencing it firsthand. It's when they knock you out and dissect you, making improvements and overall, just hurting you. Afterwards, they wake you up and send you through a maze where red-hot coils are the floor and they burn you. One trip and your dead. Slow down, and your feet are burned beyond reciognition. Fail, and you're dead. If you survive that, the improvements and the testing just gets worse. But if you don't get better, you're dead." Molly's voice was regretful. "They tortured Ben and Mal until D—Max and I broke them out. Di was caught once, for a master plan to work. They put her through it, and she'd never been the same. Ben's were the lightest, since she was so small. Everyone else had it so much harder."

"Ben, show your feet." Mal's voice was bitter beyond belief. I heard the rustling of socks and cloth, and then a few gasps.

"She's the easiest of us all. If you notice, Mal and Di walk with slight limps, and for good reason. Di's just good at shutting it out." Dag told them, and I felt a slight breeze on my bare feet as the blanket was lifted. More gasps and murmurs of surprise echoed through the room.

"But we digress. Max had to deal with a lot." Dag took over the narrative. Her seventeenth birthday passed. Juju grew up. People died, more joined. Then, two months from what she thought her eighteenth birthday would be, her past caught up. Her life careened wildly out of control."

"We arrived." Gazzy's voice was dull and dead sounding.

"Well, yes and no." Mal sighed. "We were found too. Once we were found, you appeared. It was too much at once."

Molly laughed. "Mal's right. Eight people she thought she would never see again suddenly contacted her. She thought Ben and Mal were dead. They called in. She was hiding from her family. They appeared. She had veto power. She could have kicked any of them out; she chose to let them stay. Because even though they'd never given her a second chance, she gave them one."

"Wait, what do you mean, we never gave her a second chance. We always gave her other chances!" Gazzy cried defensively. Molly laughed dryly.

"He means that she let you start over and have a new life. When she needed a new life, you destroyed it." From the sounds of footsteps leaving, she had been glaring at someone, effectively scaring the crap out of them.

"What?" Iggy whispered. "Why were you blaming Fang?"

"I blamed him because he's the reason she's in this state. When Max II filled in for her, Fang followed Di back. Then he accused her of being Max, and she agreed that she was Max and explained. He snarled at her and refused to accept her reasons. Max was left alone on the roof, covered in blood, sweat, rain…and she was alone, sobbing. No one came to look for her, no one came to save her. Just like another situation she had been in…more than three years before. Only this time, no one found her by chance. She slammed herself back together, shocking herself when she lost her will." Molly's voice was sounding a bit hoarse, and I heard something thunk into someone's palm and someone chugging down water. "Thanks."

"She launched herself into this new campaign with vigor. She vanished, and when we got back into contact with her, she was hovering above an enemy base, with the intention of rushing in with no backup, no ammo and no plan. It took Juju wailing and people threatening to off themselves to get her to stop." Dag was talking now, telling what had happened while Molly worked her voice back into use.

"And she went in anyway, barehanded. She saved eighteen lives, and when we got there, she was finishing up. She got everyone else out safely, got us clear, and then when she blew up Base, she accidentally missed one person. Can you blame her? She'd been through a lot in the past forty-eight hours, probably hadn't gotten any sleep, flew eight hours, and on top of that, took out more than a dozen enemies without any weapons or plans.

"And Fang blamed her, accused her of purposely trying to kill him and you believed him! If you were like that, you'd be allowed some time to explain, but you just plowed over her." Dag finished up, and Juju took up the narrative.

"From there, Di started to plot her final attack, what she called the Destruction, capital 'D'. She took it way serious. She was going to shut down Itex once and for all. She didn't think I noticed, but she spent about twenty-one hours a day working. G…Gira and Molly and I staged an intervention…we had a sing out, which is when we just sing the songs that fit our lives at that point." Someone rummaged in something, and I heard a distinct click, before my singing voice rang through the room. Ignorance, by Paramore. That last song that had sent me into tears.

"Dunno why she was so focused on singing that one, but it had something to do with her being someone you wanted her to be and someone she couldn't be." I heard a clicking sound, and Ignorance abrubtly stopped, while another one started.

You could hear running water, and I suppose I was singing in the shower when she recorded this one.

"Maybe I will never be, who I was before. Maybe I don't even know her anymore. Maybe who I am today ain't so far from yesterday. Can I find the way to be every part of me? So I try to slow things down, and find myself, get my feet back on the ground. It'll take time, but I know I'll be alright, 'cause nothing much has changed on the inside. It's hard to figure out how it's going to be, 'cause I don't really know now, I wanna understand!" It was so strange hearing a song that I'd sung only the day before. I stopped about then, and I heard myself sing another song that I'd be embarrassed to sing in public, but it was still important to me.

"Maybe it's the things I say, maybe I should think before I speak. But I thought that I knew enough to know myself and do what's right for me. And these walls I'm building now, you used to bring em down, and the tears I'm crying out, you used to wipe away… Don't make me choose between what I want and what you think I need…Now it all feels like a fight, you were always on my side, and the lonely I feel now, you used to make it go away! Why is all this so confusing, complicated and consuming, why does all this make me angry, I wanna go back to being happy! I thought you said it was easy, listening to your heart, I thought you said I'd be okay, so why am I breaking apart?" You could hear muffled sobs, but then the water turned up, and you heard no more from me.

"That was her yesterday…she was in the bathroom for about two hours, just singing. She said some stuff, too, but I couldn't hear her."

"Wow. So the whole time, all she wanted was the best for us?" Gazzy whispered, and I could practically feel Ben nodding. The whole bed was bouncing from her energy.

"That's where you're wrong." Everyone turned and gasped when they saw me awake. "I wasn't focused on saving anyone. I was too scared of myself to be thinking logically. At first, I wanted to keep them safe, but from then on, it was just lie after lie to keep myself safe."

"You don't mean that, really, Di?"

"Unfortuately, I do." I pushed myself up into a sitting position. "And I have to be honest from here on out. I've only got a week and a half left."

.

**Not really much of a cliffie, but I can't end all of them with cliffies, now can I?**

**Please, read and review! And feel free to ask questions…I'll try to answer them as best I can!**


	35. Asassin's Tale: Dying With One Last Shot

**Wow, the final chapter...hard to believe we're already here!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own, but I wish I did. I also don't own the songs that inspired this chapter, nor do I own the science class that I wrote it in. I know, I know, Mr. L, but I was finished and there was nothing left to do!**

.

Beta sat in the passenger seat of the old Ford, hoping they wouldn't be stopped or noticed.

They weren't, and they pulled into the busy Base unnoticed.

It was amazing to Beta that this famous place, the powerful Lightning wouldn't scan intruders for weapons, but they didn't.

She snorted. What arrogance!

There was a guard checkpoint, but no one stopped them to check their car.

There were scanners, but they were deacticated.

There were guards, but they didn't even give Alpha and Beta a second glance. Alpha snickered.

What fools they were! She hummed quietly to herself, and Alpha gave her a weird glance, and she shot one back at him before continuing her hum. Simply because Itex was gone, it didn't mean they should let their guard down!

They exited the car, and Beta split off from Alpha. He would search one half of Base, and she would search the other.

Whoever found Maximum Ride would kill her.

.

Why did they hate Maximum Ride so much?

Well, five years before, maybe six, Max had come to the Branch where they were, in Germany.

Max had battled with one of their best, Omega 16V, and she'd taken him down easily, along with other opponents and Marian Janssen.

Several years prior to this, Janssen had lost her daughter, Marianna. She'd run away with Janssen's nieces. Bitter over this, Janssen created the Omega series, dubbed the Greeks by insiders. They were her pride and joy, the best of the best, and the test results reflected that.

But when Omega was defeated by Maximum Ride, she flew into a rage and gave one final order before she was arrested.

"Tell ter Borcht to terminate _all_ of them," she'd hissed viciously, and ter Borcht did so.

Beta, Alpha and Gamma had been third, fourth and fifth last respectively to be murdered. Beta had been shot in the head, while Alpha and Gamma were both poisoned.

Due to the extreme testing and improvements, they weren't killed the whole way.

Beta managed to get the last ones to be terminated out—the two girls she considered her babies, two Greeks by the names of Zeta and Rho. She'd told them to run, try to find a person named Maximum Ride, that she'd help them, that they'd be able to live if they listened to her.

That's when she was shot in the head, that's when her head was damaged severely.

They thought she was dead, she knew innately.

Ter Borcht was enraged when he found out that Beta had let the girls escape, and even more so when he found out that three more had survived by millimeters.

To punish them, he'd rewired their brains to make them the best assassins that Itex had ever had.

Even after Itex had fallen, they would remain to take down whoever had shattered them.

It was just a cruel twist of fate that she'd have to destroy whom she'd saved to protect them.

It was even crueler that she didn't remember loving the two little girls.

It was cruelest that she would kill the very person whom she'd sent them to for safety.

.

Beta turned a corner and found a woman with black and brownish hair in a wheelchair, accompanied by a young girl, maybe ten years old.

The girl pushed the woman down the hall, chattering on and on.

"You're sure, Di? Today's the last day?"

"Yeah, hon. Nine hours." The girl ran into Beta, and jumped.

"Oops, sorry!" she yelped, then looked at Beta's face. "Hey, do I know you?"

"I don't think so…" Beta trailed off, tipping her head at the girl. She could've sworn she knew her from somewhere. "I'm Becca."

"Hey, another 'B' name! I'm Ben."

"And I'm Di." The woman looked at Becca curiously.

At this point, a girl with black braids ran around the corner

"Di, Di, there's someone threatening your Flock," she panted. "It's a guy, with, like, a German accent, and he's got a gun, and it's like your vision!" the girl braced her hands on her knees, breathing hard.

Beta's heart-rate sped up. Her eyesight sharpened, and the world leapt into a frightening focus.

_This woman was who she had to kill._

"Damn. Where, Juju?" Diane Mumixam looked at the girl urgently.

"By…by the blue wall…" Juju panted. Di swore again.

"I can't get there fast enough, but you and Ben should be able to stop them. Go! Get Molly and Dag!" she yelled as the two young girls took off down the hallway.

With this, Di turned to Beta and said conversationally, "You're Beta Greek, aren't you? I could have sworn that Ben and Mal told me you were dead." Di shrugged. "Well, I was supposed to be dead too, so I guess we've got that in common, along with Ben and Mal."

"What are you talking about?" Beta demanded, the fingers of her left hand under her jacket, resting on the grip of her Beretta Tomcat.

"You don't remember? Well, I suppose you'd know them as Zeta and Rho. Rho was the girl who you just met. She swore up and down you were her first mother, since you were the only one other than her older sister, Zeta, who took care of her."

Beta growled and whipped out her gun, the barrel resting against Di's forehead.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you!" she demanded, her finger tensing on the trigger.

"I don't have one." Di informed her, smiling ever so slightly at the woman in front of her. "But you do."

With another growl, Beta fired off one shot into Di's chest, causing the younger woman to collapse back into the wheelchair.

"I knew you'd do that. I knew I'd die." Di gasped out as Beta backed away, the gun slightly shaking now.

"H…How?" Beta demanded, frightened.

"I…I can see the fu…future…" Di replied as best she could, coughing up a bit of blood. "You…you punctured my left lung…I won't die until eight PM from blood filling my lungs. And Ben and Mal won't ever know it was you, don't worry." Her voice was stronger now. "Now run! Before they catch you!"

The words triggered something in Beta's mind, and the memories that ter Borcht had locked away flooded into her mind.

"No…no…no…what have I done?!" she choked out, backing away, before turning and racing down the hallway, dropping her gun.

Di let herself lean forward, and grasped the gun in her fingers triumphantly, along with the scrap of paper she'd been fiddling with.

"Don't worry, Beta. They won't ever know it was you. The girls won't ever know it was you," she whispered, and fired a second shot off into her head, effectively ensuring that she would die.

Her barely alive body was discovered by Gazzy and Mal.

She was rushed to the emergency med-bay, but it was too late.

There was no way she'd survive her apparent suicide.

There was no way she was returning from _this_ death.

.

A heavy silence filled the room. Juju sat on the very edge of the bed, stroking Di's sticky, bloody hair gently.

Mal and Gazzy shared the window seat, Mal flicking her fingers against the seat, blinking several times. Gazzy had this stoic look on his face, _notgonnacry, notgonnacry_.

Ben was huddled up in a small ball at the foot of the bed, firmly believing that it was her fault that Di had committed suicide.

Suddenly, Juju gasped and snatched a slip of paper from Di's fingers.

"_Ben, it's not your fault, this was always how I was going to go. And I told you so—I'm gonna die in my sleep_." She laughed wetly. "She did say she'd die in her sleep…" Ben slowly untucked herself from her ball, listening as Juju read the note. "_Tell everyone I'm sorry, and that lying was the best way to get this over with. Love, Di/Max. PS Juju, please don't do anything you'd regret_."

Two more people hurried through the door.

"Is she going to be okay?!" Nudge yelled, rambling on and on with worry, just as Angel shouted out, "Why did the meds say she was going to die?"

Once Nudge finished her speech, the room was silent until Juju spoke. "We think Di committed suicide at about nine this morning. When you guys were under attack…I ran and tried to get her to help…Ben came with me because Di couldn't get there fast enough. When we went back for her, Mal and Gazzy found her on the ground with a Beretta Tomcat pointed at herself. She shot herself twice, once in the chest, once in the head. They don't expect her to last the night." Juju's voice trembled. "Why would she do this? Why?"

Ben had uncurled, but she curled right back up again at Juju's hysterics.

Mal got up and smacked Juju on the back of the head.

"Shut up, Ju. You bawling isn't going to do anything for her." Juju nodded and fought to restrain her tears.

"Why aren't you upset?" Angel asked softly.

"I got my tears out earlier, when she first told us she would die. I've been prepared for this to happen. There's nothing left for me to cry." Mal stated bluntly. "Look, I'm hurting about this as much as Ben, but I don't think Di would want hysterics over something she obviously didn't want us to worry about."

Angel spoke up then. "She didn't commit suicide. But she knew it would happen." Seven heads snapped towards her, including Fang and Iggy, who were standing in the doorway.

"What?!" six voices cried out in unison.

"Her thoughts…the block she usually has around them…it's been down for a while now. When she…when she died, I heard one thought, over and over again, and…well, she wouldn't want me to say. It was to protect someone else."

"What happened?" Fang asked, his voice slightly edged. Mal quickly explained, since Juju was still crying.

When Mal finished her story, Fang closed his eyes tightly. "She did say she'd go out with a bang."

"She did?"

"Yeah. We talked when you were all out playing tag and whatnot. Before she got knocked out by that chocolate bomb thing she was working on."

"Did she say anything else?" Juju asked softly, and Fang thought back.

"She said something about lying to protect someone. And something about not getting a happy ending."

"Anything else?" Molly asked from the door. Fang and Iggy had moved farther inside.

"Um…she said that she'd get dragged off into oblivion kicking and screaming." Fang shrugged, trying to make up for his extra words. "And then she swore she'd go out with a bang."

The rest of the room was silent, puzzling over the meaning of this. Many pointed stares were directed at Angel.

Finally, Angel cracked. "She was killed, but she was very accepting. I didn't hear much about her killer, but it was a girl, named…Becca? Beta. That's it. But Beta only shot her once, in the chest. Max shot herself in the head. She was thinking something like, _it's about time I died. I've only failed to a million times already_."

Ben and Mal's eyes widened, both of them thinking the same thing, but not vocalizing it. They would talk about it later.

The room remained silent as they waited for the girl known by two names to die.

Nudge watched the heart monitor, watching as it slowed.

With one last, final beat, the monitor went still.

Di was gone—and so was Max.

Juju tipped her head back and screamed.

.

The world was black and dark, and my whole body hurt. I tried to open my eyes, but they were simply too heavy, and I just couldn't. I heard a beeping sound, slow and steady, but if you listened closely, it was fluttering and slowing and slowing.

I realized that I was in a hospital, and the beeping was my heart monitor.

"She did say she'd die in her sleep…" a watery chuckle came from the voice.

"And she also said she'd go out with a bang." A deeper voice added softly.

I fell deeper into the velvety black, and the beep slowed even more. I hurt even worse, and everything just seemed so much softer and blacker.

It was quiet in that dark word, except for that beeping, and almost as if it knew I was listening, the beep silenced.

Everything was still dark, but it was warm and I didn't hurt anymore. A scream disturbed the quiet of the blackness. And then…

I was gone.

.

**Only the Aftermath left over. Don't worry, it gets a lot more lighthearted.**

** Don't kill me because I committed character blasphemy by killing Max/Di, please! There are good reasons for it, and I will explain them in the final ending.**

** Hopefully I will get that up soon, but I'm in exams this week, so no promises. I do have it written, but it's undergoing revisions, so…yeesh, who knows when that will get done. But hopefully soon—maybe by Wednesday?**

**Also: I know that exactly sixty-seven of you have this on alert. I know that only ten of you reviewed last chapter...since this is the second to last, do you think we could reach three-fifty? That's forty more than what we have.**

**And I will accept flames for commiting character blasphemy...I just won't really listen to them.**

**Sy!**

**PS: I will be going back and tying up loose ends as a rewrite after a bit of a break...**


	36. Aftermath: Gratitudes Given

What can I say about dying? It's not so bad, really. It was my time, finally, and when my time came, it was…well, my time to leave.

People come and go all the time—ninety nine percent of those cases, they're alive and you still never see them again. They're just gone—like people who go missing in horror stories.

Stories don't always have happy endings—mine most certainly did not. But in a way, I felt it wouldn't have been right any other way. I'd nearly died hundreds of times and fake-died three different times (once when I was in that Isolation Tank, when I was trying to save the Flock, and once when I became Diane instead of Max), so I felt that it was only right that I actually die.

Maybe if I'd been just a bit different, everything would have ended in…well, a different way.

I wouldn't have died this way, and I wouldn't have to watch everything slowly unravel and reweave.

Everyone forced themselves to move on. I know they didn't want to dwell on what was past—I'd taught them that personally—but when you remove everything that reminds you , even your names, that's just avoiding the subject and therefore being cowardly.

I don't know why I was so important to them—Molly always cared for Lissa more, and Dag for Molly—but losing me, it hit them hard.

Juju went through the wipe. She doesn't remember Lightning or Itex, doesn't remember me or Stephen or Molly or Dag…even her best friends, Gazzy, Mal, Angel and Ben. The only thing she ever remembers now is Leah Samuels, the normal, non-mutant, human girl she became. She now lives in Canada, with her new life and family.

When she was seventeen, she gave birth to two children—Julia and Lewis. The father of her children was her boyfriend of two years, Stephen Young.

Maybe she did remember some of who she was. I'd like to think so, since she wears the ring Stephen gave her around her neck. But she thinks it's a purity ring. Even so, it's still important to her.

When she turned eighteen, she married Stephen and they lived in Quebec for two years, before moving themselves and the twins to Lanigan, Canada.

She worked as a secretary while Stephen ran a construction company. Last I checked in on them, they'd had their third and fourth children, Diane and Ricky.

Juju's first Stephen also went through the wipe, although he didn't need it so much as Juju apparently did. Like Juju, he lives in Canada, although his home is in Victoria. When he woke up, he thought he was Victor Ruling, and he wasn't sure why he had two rings in his hand. But for some reason, he absolutely loved the silver and gold ring, like Juju.

Molly and Dag did divorce—Dag moved to Alaska, where he runs a military base, as second in command, of course. Never first in command. I think he remembered when he and Molly became the firsts and the pressure became too much. He had a girlfriend for a while, but the two of them broke up mutually for reasons I didn't quite understand. Something about her being allergic to dog hair.

Molly adopted Ben and Mal, since she somehow knew that was I wanted her to do. The three of them moved to Colorado with the Flock, and they built a house about a mile away from the E-house. Eventually, Molly got married again, to a man named Will Mayfield.

She worked as a computer consultant and a kindergarten teacher for six years after Lightning formally disbanded, before she became the mother of three of her own children—three very cute boys. I think she was finally happy because they kids gave her someone to worry over. She kept teaching even after her kids were born.

Dag and Molly kept in touch, and while they certainly don't love each other like they once did, they're definitely best friends and confidants. It was like me and Iggy. The possibility was there, but it was about as likely to happen as me coming back to life.

When Will died in a car crash, Dag was the first one there to comfort Molly, and they wound up getting remarried. I wasn't sure why, but they were happy together, so no one interfered with that.

Both Ben and Mal changed their names—Legally, they're Amanda Grace O'Brien and Rebecca Mallory O'Brien.

Or Rebecca Mallory O'Brien-Rise, now.

When they got married, Mal was twenty. Ben was sixteen.

As for the rest of the Flock…well, stuff happened. Nudge finally got her wish—she underwent the wipe, along with Juju. She lives in Europe and works as a model.

Fang...Fang never really did recover. Sure, he put on a good face and he even got married to another girl who was his soulmate as well (people never have just one, you know. If you did, the whole world would be totally messed up), but if anyone mentioned the name Max or Di, he flipped.

Iggy eventually went on and became the first televised blind chef—and his show is a hit, lemme tell you! But before that, he was a firefighter, one of the first blind ones, ever. He taught the world that being blind isn't a hindrance, but instead a gift. According to him, the world is very different from what you can see and that there is so much you can learn from a blind or deaf child.

Gazzy, as you know, married Mal and went on to have a…strange life, to put it nicely. He works as an FBI agent, as does Mal, so they both moved to DC. As far as I know, they're still living there happily.

The last member of the Flock, Angel. Angel smacked some sense into everyone. She was the one who let go the easiest. Why? I don't know. Maybe because she'd read my mind and knew what I wanted her to do.

Angel moved to Arizona with Ella and Mom. Since she was so smart, she graduated high school at the tender age of twelve (right about when I died) and whizzed through college. At fifteen, she was working with Mom in her veterinary practice. Ella joined them after she graduated college—at a normal pace.

.

All of them moved on, and I'm proud of them. I'm proud to have known them, and I'm proud to have been parts of their lives.

The world knows each and every one of them as a normal person, but each of them has a past they either want to return to or forget completely.

I'm part of that past.

Of course, most of them chose to let the past go, while one of them decided to remember everything.

Eight years after my life officially ended, one last, final event happened.

.

Eighteen year old Benevolence Zeta-Rho stepped out of the small car and slung her tote over her shoulder.

She looked up to the sky and saw it was the same blue it had always been. She didn't know why, but she'd thought everything would have been different, now that she was older.

The old Base looked much the same, except for the slightly peeling paint. Ben smiled slightly and started forward, remembering the bumps of the asphalt and the windows where she'd played hopscotch and practiced her left-side kicks.

A stained patch of concrete was where Mal had accidentally knocked out an Ocean kid and cracked their skull. The kid was fine, but they never did get the blood out. Three feet away, splatters of paint decorate the sidewalk from various projects and decorations.

She stepped up to the once-imposing double doors that were worn with time and disuse. Her fingers flickered over the letters J, M and B before pushing the door open with an eerie creak.

Her footsteps are light over the dirty floor, leaving small prints in the undisturbed dust. She's amazed that no one's dared to visit in the past seven and a half years.

Sunlight filtered into the grand room from dusty skylights seven stories up. The various balconies looked down on her, and Ben closed her eyes tightly against the memories of when they were filled with people of every size, shape and color, all wearing red or blue or green.

She kept going, and noticed that the furniture in every room she passed through was fine, albeit dusty. The paint on the walls was faded, but it was still neatly done and not peeling.

Moving slowly, remembering everything that had happened in these rooms in the years before, she noticed the little things that had changed and the smaller things that had stayed the same.

Eventually, she reached a room on the fifth floor, one with a smooth wooden door, burnt just a bit at the edges, with a bronze plaque with three names in imposing letters.

DIANE MUMIXAM  
MOLLY O'BRIAN  
GIRASOL DE LOS REYES

She gently pushed it open, and stepped into the room lit with dusty sunlight.

Nothing had changed here, nothing since the day Gira had committed suicide.

Gira's bed was still rumpled and my photos still stuck to the walls. Molly's bed was as neatly made as ever, and each of the three colors vividly stood out even with the decade of disuse.

Ben stepped gingerly over the floor—it really was quite dusty—and picked up the camera that Di had so valued in her life on Earth.

She unzipped the case and pulled out the camera, turning it on with the flip of a switch. The starting tune was startling loud in the almost silent space, and the pictures started flickering across the small screen.

These pictures were obviously taken when no one was watching, because she saw a black and white image of two hands that we obviously Juju and Stephen's based on the rings, a snapshot of her ten year old self laughing with a full-out grin.

Then another picture flickered into being. It was a self-portrait of Di. Ben gasped when she saw it—it was Di looking at a mirror, crying, while the camera around her neck flashed, snapping an eternal image.

It was the last picture anyone had of Di, and Ben was the first one to ever see it.

The next photo was one of a note, and she had to manipulate the zoom to be able to read it.

_Read the journals. Boxes under my bed._

It was odd, seeing a picture of a note, but Ben shrugged and dragged out three boxes. One was filled with spiral notebooks, one with thick leather-bound journals and the last with various scraps and sheets of paper.

She picked up a spiral bound notebook that she recognized and opened it. Her own childish scrawl smattered across the pages, never quite straight, but still there. She set it down and grabbed a leather one. Mart's meticulous print marched across the pages in razor straight lines. The next one was a pink paisley one. Molly's cursive wove like ribbons across the page.

A solid black notebook was Dag's; a red one with a yellow sunflower was Gira's. The black one streaked with different colors had once belonged to Nudge; the blue one that read "Princess" across the top was filled with Juju's handwriting. For each of the notebooks, there was a different person's handwriting, and when she got to the final book, a thick five inch binder, a neat typed page stared up at her.

_The funny thing about imminent death is that it snaps everything right into perspective. Take right now, for instance._

Ben flipped halfway through.

_Fang, Iggy and I are all fourteen…Nudge is eleven, roughly…the Gasman is eightish. Angel is somewhere in the six range. I don't know how old Total is, and frankly, what with the calculations of dog years into human years, I don't care…Angel's quick instincts had saved my life. But Total had taken the hit…_

She flipped to the last page of the binder, where a blue edged sheet of paper waited. In Max's handwriting, a letter waited.

_Dear Ben,_

_Yes, I know you'll be here. Right now, it's the day I'll die…eight years before you'll ever see this. This whole binder…it's my life story. I know I've told you all the stories, but I thought that maybe it would shed some light on why I died. The last section is particularly interesting. It tells about a woman named Beta…who happens to be alive and made a horrible mistake. I'm sure if you asked Marianna, she would help you track down one Beta Greek…better known to the world as Suzanne Namowitz. And I'm sure that she'd be glad to see one of her babies again._

_Honey, it wasn't your fault that everything ended the way it did. It was simply an end, and when you hit the end…it's exactly that. An end. I don't know if there's a heaven or a hell, or if I'm even going to one or the other, but I do know that somehow, I'll be able to watch as you read this letter._

_Go ahead. Tell the world. Bust the story open—maybe it's time the world knew exactly what all those mysterious sabotage attacks and explosions were all those years ago. Maybe they're ready._

_But they won't be if you aren't. And run this by two people, if you will. One by the name of Fang, the other by the name of your heart. They'll both guide you in the right direction._

_Also: The other journals all are part of a series I think you'd like to read. It's called the Lightning Chronicles, and it's a grand tale of how everything weaves and meshes together to reach one final story._

_Love, Max._

_PS: I know, right? This would have been so much easier without the mutations…and if I'm wrong with what you're thinking by your expression, my bad._

_PPS: This will shake a lot of people. Call if a wake-up call if you will._

Ben laughed long and hard. How did everyone miss this?

She would definitely be giving everyone a bit of a wake-up call. Di had always been doing that in her life on Earth.

It was funny to see her do it in death.

.

Heaven was a unique place for me—everyone there was someone who'd died, obviously. I saw Sasha, Gira, Mart and Ricky on a regular basis—dinner at my house on Monday, Sasha's on Wednesday, Gira's on Friday, and the boys co-oped for a Saturday night barbeque. The rest of the time, we'd just pick someone's house and have a potluck.

Yeah, dead people eat.

Other than my four, there were maybe eight children that flickered in and out—children that should have been. Kids from the futures that never happened. On Earth, if we hadn't been Lightning, everything would have been way different, and these children proved it. Every day, there was someone new, and every evening, they'd leave. I don't know why, just that they'd come and go.

And that's the end.

Dead, but not forgotten.

Lost, but remembered.

So, in the end, I say goodbye, and I hope you will all visit again soon. The afterlife is a bit boring, and I've got plenty more stories that have yet to be told.

Good luck with your lives—may they be far more normal than mine!

.

** There's the end…*is bawling* I can't believe it's over!**

** Shout out-CONGRATULATIONS ETTA!!! SHE'S A NATIONAL FENCER! YESYESYESYESYES!**

** And then I want to thank everyone…and I want to give gratitude to six people.**

** Shadowleaf264: My wonderful Beta and plot-bouncer who talked me through rough patches, plot holes and put up with my insane ramblings. Also: thank you for smacking me with poisoned food items and a dull foil when I attempted to procrastinate. My gratitude has been given.**

** Kelsey Goode: My first and one of my most faithful reviewers. My gratitude has been given.**

** Separate Entiety: Your reviews always encouraged and lightened. Also: You're the only person to have reviewed every single chapter. Much gratitude has been given.**

** ToxicRain42: Honestly, you're one of the first who I would see whenever I got a review. And you were always so cheerful when you did so. Gratitude given.**

** Stargazer-Look4Me: Another reviewer who reviewed most of the chapters and one of the first I see when I get a review. Gratitude given.**

**The last person isn't a usual reviewer, but she is a reviewer than means a lot.**

**AmyQueen95: Thank you for being bluntly honest with me about writing too fast and losing loose ends and plot twists that I forgot about. Gratitude is given; I hope you accept it.**

**I want to thank everyone who reviewed, no matter how few times, and I want to give gratitude to everyone who read and subscribed. I want to give gratitude to everyone who stuck with me and give gratitude to everyone who favorited and commented.**

**Now I will take my final bow, and proceed to vanish.**

**I wish you laughter, love and luck, and I hope you'll come back and visit sometime!**

**Sylver Luna **


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